Drivers Talking On Cell Phones: Hang Up Or Else

From TheDay.com:

Sudden braking, swerving across lanes and unexpected turns are some of the signs police officers look for when patrolling for erratic and distracted drivers.

But those clues, which often signal an intoxicated driver, can also be signs of a distracted driver.

“Sometimes it's even worse” than driving intoxicated, said Waterford Chief Murray Pendleton. “We've spent a substantial amount of effort in teaching officers how to detect drivers under the influence, and it's amazing how many of those same symptoms are indicative of a person operating with a cell phone or attempting to text message.”

CELL PHONE CITATIONS

State police, statewide,

June 24-Aug. 18, 2009:

2,250

State police Troop E,

June 24-Aug. 18, 2009:

177

About two months ago, Gov. M. Jodi Rell launched the “Hang Up or Pay Up” campaign, which targets drivers who use cell phones while behind the wheel.

In announcing the start of the season-long campaign in June, Rell said the purpose was to reduce the number of distracted drivers, who cause “far too many crashes - crashes that are easily preventable.”

Since the start of the campaign, state police have issued 1,000 more cell phone citations than during the same time period last year.

But not all distracted driving is easy for officers to see.

”Talking is most obvious because we can see them doing it,” Stonington Police Lt. Raymond Curioso said, adding that about 90 percent of drivers who are cited tell officers they already have a hands-free device. “Texting is a little more difficult because a lot of the time they hold it closer to their lap or by the steering wheel, and we can see them looking down.”

While some police officials said that cell phone use can be a challenge to enforce during routine patrol, others said the violation is so obvious that it requires no special enforcement or checkpoint.

”It's almost kind of an easy violation to spot. You're driving down the road or in a static position and it's kind of a dead giveaway,” said Groton City Police Lt. Robert Martin. “Cell phone violations will also lead to other stuff like a suspended license or drivers that don't have a license or are not registered. It opens up other things.”

Few local police departments have dedicated patrols specifically for the campaign, citing a lack of resources or an already vigilant squad of officers who regularly look out for violators.

But supervisors said they've been reminding officers and shift commanders to continue to be vigilant for violators.

The 2005 law bans the use of cell phones and other hand-held electronic devices while driving. Drivers 18 or older are permitted to use cell phones with hands-free devices. Younger drivers are not.

The law exempts drivers contacting emergency personnel or a health care provider in an emergency situation. Police officers, firefighters and ambulance drivers are also exempt when performing their official duties.

If drivers are ticketed, they're likely to receive a $100 fine. For a first offense, a driver can appeal the ticket by showing proof of purchase of a hands-free device after the date of the citation.

Since late June, local police have handed out scores of the $100 citations.

As of last week, New London officers had written 70 citations since the announcement of the campaign. Over the same period, state police gave out more than 2,250. About 8 percent of those came from troopers in the Troop E area, which covers Sprague to Voluntown and East Lyme to Stonington.

Stonington is one of the few local departments that increased efforts and dedicated an officer specifically for the campaign. Curioso said over a two-day span at the start of the campaign, town officers handed out 46 cell phone citations. The effort was part of a request by the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association to report cell phone violations given out June 24 and 25 to coincide with the campaign's launch.

A state police spokesman attributed the increase in statewide citations to the campaign, although he said there were no specific patrols for cell phone violations.

”It's been our usual enforcement. Troopers every day out there are looking for those violations as well as other violations,” said state police Sgt. Chris Johnson, who then discussed the purpose of the campaign. “It's important that when we do these types of campaigns that … we get the word out. The reason behind the enforcement is so we can hopefully change people's driving habits.”