What should you do if your cell phone rings and you do not have a hands-free device?
- Answer the call and keep the conversation short.
- Do not answer the phone and let it go to voice mail. ✓
- Answer the call if you are stopped at a red light.
Answer: B. Do not answer the phone and let it go to voice mail.
Do not answer the phone; let the call go to voicemail.
Why this is the answer
The California Driver Handbook says a ringing cell phone should not be answered while you drive. It tells drivers to let the call go to voicemail, and if a call must be made or returned, to pull safely off the road first. The handbook also states that using a handheld phone while driving is unsafe and illegal. Because the question says you have no hands-free device, answering would mean using the phone handheld, which the passage does not allow. Letting it ring avoids that.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Answer the call and keep the conversation short. — Answering and keeping it short still means using a handheld phone while driving, which the handbook calls unsafe and illegal when no hands-free device is available.
- C. Answer the call if you are stopped at a red light. — The handbook does not make being stopped at a red light an exception; it says if you must make or return a call, pull safely off the road first.
Remember it
If the phone rings, let voicemail take it; if you truly need to talk, get off the road first.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 8: Safe Driving, p. 70