The Cheyenne Police Department has given out 321 citations for the use of cell phones while driving for the first half of the year in the city, meaning the department is now expecting a higher number of citations this year. Last year a total of 481 citations were cited all together.
Department spokesman Sgt. Rob Dafoe says the increase is particularly in part due to special details which have targeted the problem.
“We had a special mobilization, among others, from May to June targeting cell phone use, and we had 63 citations from that effort alone,” he said.
“Talking with some of the officers, it’s like fishing in a tank out there. There are so many people doing it – and honestly most of them have ‘2’ county license plates. They know about the law and are just choosing to ignore it.”
Laramie County license plates begin with the number “2”.
Dafoe states that this and last year’s citations consisted mostly of tickets for talking on cell phones while driving with no hands-free device, and only a small percentage is due from texting.
The city currently has a fine of $125 for talking or texting while driving, and is a primary offense which means officers have the right to pull over anyone who is suspected of cell phone usage behind the wheel.
As of last year, the state now includes a $75 fine for texting while driving which is also considered a primary offense.
Councilman Don Pierson is a former police chief of Cheyenne who voted against the bill when it passed, agreeing that texting should be considered a primary offense due to the attention it takes from drivers on the road, but says talking on the phone should be a secondary offense, meaning officers only have the right to cite someone if they’ve already been pulled over for another offense.
Pierson also add that even though the ban began two years ago, he still has yet to see a study proving the number of reduced accidents in the city limits.
“We were supposed to get that report a year after it went into effect, and I still haven’t seen that,” he said. “If I had to guess, I would say that it hasn’t had a major impact on accident rates. There are a lot of things that distract drivers, and that ordinance really only tackles one thing.”
Council President Mark Rinne says he too would like to see a study along the same lines.
“It would be interesting to see that kind of data, if there is any like it,” he said. “I still see a lot of people ignoring it while I’m driving around.”