Colorado cops bust 206 drivers for using cellphones in first 6 months of new ban

Colorado law enforcement officers cited more than drivers for using cellphones while behind the wheel during the first six months of the state s new ban on drivers hand-held use of phones The new law which prohibits people from using a cellphone while driving unless the device is in a hands-free setup took effect at the start of Between Jan and June officers issued citations to drivers in cases statewide according to statistics provided by the Colorado Judicial Department The first six months of citations reflect racial disparities an issue that lawmakers were concerned about when the bill was debated at the Capitol Black Coloradans make up about of the state s population but accounted for almost of hand-held phone use citations the early facts shows Unfortunately we have not mitigated the systemic bias and evidence of that is things like this disproportional representation reported state Rep Jennifer Bacon D-Denver Amid concerns of pretextual policing the new law passed with a compromise in which handheld cellphone use became a secondary offense that is it can t be the main reason that a police officer pulls someone over Rather officers can pull drivers over for other crimes like weaving between lanes or driving unsafely and then can add the charge of handheld cellphone use to that event The first six months of input also shows a disparity in the number of white drivers charged with handheld cellphone use White drivers accounted for of citations but white people make up about of the state s population That gap could be attributed to an undercount of Hispanic drivers Only of citations were issued to drivers described as Hispanic although Hispanic people make up about of the state s population across races And while white and Hispanic defendants are differentiated in the judicial system s information a random Denver Post review of cases in which the defendant was listed as white included defendants with common Hispanic surnames Bacon reported she was encouraged that the racial gap for Black drivers was not wider and explained she thinks the figures would show a larger disparity if handheld use of cellphones was a primary offense We were able to kind of keep the ability to use it pretextually off the table she revealed It just goes to show there is something wrong you have disproportional representation with anything that has to do with the justice system Offenses of the new law can aftermath in a fine and two license suspension points for a first-time violation and up to a fine and four points for third offenses First-time violations of the law can be dismissed if the person ticketed shows they have a hands-free accessory or provides proof of purchase The hands-free cellphone enforcement has so far resulted in just over in fines the statistics shows Enforcement was heaviest in Jefferson County where drivers were cited followed by Arapahoe Adams and El Paso counties the information shows Thirteen drivers were cited in Denver during the first six months of the year according to content provided by Denver County Court Sixty percent of cited drivers were between the ages of and the input shows About of drivers were men and were women according to the information In the cases in which drivers were charged with handheld cellphone use the bulk common other charges were careless driving lane-use violation driving under the influence failure to display proof of insurance and driving without a valid license the judicial department s figures shows Related Articles Colorado governor signs law banning hand-held use of phones while driving Colorado is close to outlawing all hand-held cellphone use behind the wheel after lawmakers pass bill Lawmakers hoped to crack down on distracted driving through the cellphone ban and proponents like the Colorado State Patrol focused on traffic safety as they pushed the measure into law Traffic crashes across the state are trending down but it is likely too early to tell whether that downward trend can be attributed to the hand-held cellphone ban The Colorado Department of Transportation recorded just over traffic crashes statewide between January and June including crashes with serious injuries The agency recorded crash fatalities during the first six months of So far in the agency has recorded crashes with almost of those crashes with serious injuries and fatalities However CDOT spokesman David Swenka disclosed it typically takes three to four months for new crash information to be fully informed to the agency so modern crash details is likely to change Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day