It's the law that nearly everyone supports -- and nearly everyone ignores. In the year and a half since the District began restricting drivers' cell phone use, police say they have issued thousands of tickets to violators. But for every driver silenced with a $100 fine, many others are still out there talking on hand-held phones, casually disregarding the law.
"Everybody does it," said Ann Edwards, a retiree who lives on Capitol Hill, "and I think it's dangerous."
The lack of compliance is common talk in the city. On radio talk shows, callers often complain about drivers weaving down streets with cell phones stuck to their ears. Many say they spot police officers violating the law. On his monthly WTOP call-in show, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey is often challenged about his commitment to enforcing it. He said officers ticket people all the time.
"The numbers bear that out -- if they see it, they write it," Ramsey said in a recent interview. "Sometimes an officer uses discretion. I don't know if they're going to stop for a cell phone when they're going to a robbery in progress. Sometimes things get busy."
And Ramsey urged people to report any officers they see breaking the law.
Last year, D.C. police officers issued 6,018 tickets for driving with a hand-held cell phone, said Lt. Byron Hope of the Traffic Safety and Special Enforcement Branch. This January, 370 tickets were issued, he said. Police began enforcing the law in August 2004.
Reaction to D.C.'s law -- one of the first in the country -- shows how ambivalent the public is about having anything, even safety, interfere with the beloved cell phone. And it underscores how completely, and in such a short time, the device has come to dominate people's lives. Cell phone users in the United States have increased from 34 million a decade ago to more than 203 million, according to CTIA -- the Wireless Association, and the debate about the technological phenomenon has only begun.
At least 25 state legislatures are considering restrictions on cell phone use while driving, many aimed at young drivers. But an argument is growing that laws requiring hands-free devices might contribute to hazards by encouraging drivers to talk longer. The emphasis on cell phones also discounts other activities that take people's eyes and minds off the road.
"The real issue is driving while distracted," Ramsey said. "The cell phone has just been the poster child."
‘Wrong message’
The automobile group AAA agrees, urging drivers to use cell phones only in emergencies and saying the rush to enact new laws is "probably sending the wrong message," said spokesman Mantill Williams.
"It's almost like a useless law to a certain extent," Williams said. "It sounds good, and politicians love it because it makes it sound like they're doing something. But hands free is not risk free. It's not a safety device; it's just a convenience device."
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the District have the most restrictive laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Last year, Maryland legislators prohibited drivers younger than 18 from using any cell phone. This year, a Virginia bill that would prohibit 16- and 17-years-olds from talking on the phone while driving passed the state Senate but was killed in a House subcommittee. The Senate killed a bill this session to require hands-free phones for all drivers.
Police have no data on whether the D.C. law has reduced the number of accidents. And Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said he is not aware of any studies looking at the city law's effect on safety.
Anecdotal evidence is also sketchy. Tow truck operators said they have seen no difference in accidents. Several local insurance offices said the issue rarely comes up. "The only reason it would end up in a report is if the insured indicates the crash was due to the cell phone, and we very rarely include it in our reports," said Olya Mikhailova of Georgetown Insurance Group.
But there is plenty of evidence that cell phone use is a major distraction. A recent study by the insurance institute said drivers who use any cell phones were four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to cause injury. In another recent study, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that fatigue was the most frequent cause of accidents. Taking eyes off the road was second -- and the longer the eyes were away, the more likely a crash.
"Obviously, if you're dialing a cell phone, you're going to take your eyes off the road longer than if you're popping a CD in," said Sherry Box, spokeswoman for the Transportation Institute.
Linda Garcia, director of the communications, culture and technology program at Georgetown University, said the cell phone lends itself to "multitasking," often the goal of area workaholics, but at a price.
"I think we give up a certain amount of autonomy to the machines we use -- they govern us rather than vice versa," she said.
Garcia compares the public attitude about the D.C. law to the initial reaction to seat-belt laws -- first came resistance and a minimum of enforcement, then crash data and public awareness campaigns gradually prompted the public to buckle up.
‘Striking a balance’
Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) says the police department "is doing a very good job of striking a balance between zealous enforcement and educating drivers." Ramsey said local drivers are starting to comply more, in part because ear devices have become "cool, almost a status thing."
Studies by the insurance institute showed that hand-held phone use in the District decreased from 6.1 percent of drivers to 3.5 percent right after the law went into effect, Rader said. A recent follow-up survey showed the reduction has held steady, he said. But in New York, he said, similar studies have shown that hand-held use returned to old levels after an initial drop.
When asked whether they think the D.C. law is working, some local leaders had doubts.
D.C. Council member Carol Schwartz (R-At Large), a sponsor of the legislation, said enforcement has been lax: "I see far too many people talking on their cell phones without a hands-free device."
Council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), another sponsor, said the law is good public policy. "But I think it needs some review," she said, "in terms of how successful it is and whether we should look at the issue again. There has been some additional research that we should ban cell phone talking, even with hands-free devices."
Some people who have those hands-free devices in their vehicles say they don't always use them. Michael Dillon, a Capitol Hill real estate agent, often does business in his car and acknowledges violating the cell phone law "all the time." But he doesn't mean to.
"It just happens," said Dillon, who has a speakerphone in his car. "The first thing I'll say is, 'Hold on one second,' and then I try to pull over. But that first initial pickup, I usually do it. I mean, I eat in my car, too. I even have my laptop in there."
‘The law’s the law’
But more people talk about other drivers seen yakking on their phones. Herbert Best, president of Diamond Cab, said he can always tell whether drivers ahead are engrossed in phone conversations. They drive as if they are drunk, he said.
"I see a lot of ladies driving down the street with phones to their ears," he said. " I guess they think they're superwomen."
Howard Gasaway Sr., a tow truck driver, said he doesn't have a cell phone, and he doesn't miss the aggravation.
Maybe that is why he did not show much sympathy when his son, Howard Jr., recently received a $100 ticket for talking on a hand-held phone while driving through Fort Dupont.
"He was upset about it -- that's $100," Gasaway said. "But I told him, the law's the law."
Staff writer Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.