You are a 25-year-old Oregon driver and want to use your phone for a quick call while moving. The phone is mounted on the dashboard. What's required to make this legal?
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A.
Nothing: having the phone mounted is enough.
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B.
Activation must require only minimal use of a finger to start or end the call. Correct
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C.
A Bluetooth earpiece is required; a dashboard mount alone is not legal.
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D.
Only voice commands are legal: any finger touch is prohibited.
The answer is "Activation must require only minimal use of a finger to start or end the call."
The mounted phone is a step in the right direction, but Oregon also requires that the hands-free accessory require only MINIMAL USE OF A FINGER to activate or deactivate the device. So even with a dashboard mount, you can answer or end a call with a single tap or voice command, not by tapping out a full menu or typing. "Minimal finger use" is the legal standard, not just "hands-free in spirit."
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Nothing: having the phone mounted is enough.
Even with a mount, activation must require only minimal finger use. Misreading: Treats a dashboard mount as sufficient and ignores the separate requirement that the hands-free accessory require only minimal finger use to activate or deactivate the device.
C. A Bluetooth earpiece is required; a dashboard mount alone is not legal.
The manual requires a hands-free accessory with minimal finger use, not a specific device class like Bluetooth. Misreading: Conflates 'hands-free accessory' with one specific device class; the manual sets a functional standard (minimal finger use to activate or deactivate), not a Bluetooth-earpiece requirement.
D. Only voice commands are legal: any finger touch is prohibited.
The standard is MINIMAL finger use, not zero finger use. Misreading: Misreads 'minimal use of a finger' as zero finger use; the manual permits minimal finger contact to activate or deactivate the device, not voice-only operation.
This question tests your knowledge of Distracted Driving in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Dangerous Driving Behaviors, Distracted Driving," p.80..
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