Don't Drive and Talk (on your cellphone)

Wyoming News.com: Cheyenne drivers hiding cell phones to dodge tickets
During a special operation, Cheyenne police officials found many drivers conceal their phones when they spot a marked police car, rather than obey the law.

By Lindsey Erin Kroskob
lkroskob@wyomingnews.com

CHEYENNE -- Cheyenne drivers have made it clear that they would rather hide their cell phone when they spot a marked police car than avoid talking on the phone while driving.

The Cheyenne Police Department conducted a cell phone ban study last week to assess the severity of ordinance violation.

Of the 24 tickets issued last Friday, 21 were handed out by officers in unmarked vehicles.

"Clearly we see that the ordinance itself continues to be violated," Sgt. Rob Dafoe said. "Anyone driving around in an unmarked car or in their personal vehicle can see that people are still using their cell phones."

An officer sat in an unmarked car in the 400 block of West Lincolnway for two hours Nov. 18 to count the number of drivers using cell phones. In that time frame, 56 out of the 1,000 drivers, about 5.6 percent, were visibly using a cell phone.

Dafoe said that figure is a round average for the number of offenders.

"It was just to give us an idea," he said. "We are going to continue to study and provide increased enforcement as our resources allow."

The following day, three unmarked vehicles and one patrol car hit the streets for three to four hours to specifically cite cell phone ordinance violators.

Cheyenne Police Lt. Marti Allsop issued 11 tickets Friday. Ten out of the 11 drivers said they knew that talking on their cell phone was the reason they were being pulled over. One driver had a temporary license plate out of Colorado and wasn't aware of the ordinance.

Cheyenne Police Chief Brian Kozak said he was out with the enforcement team for about an hour Friday and issued three citations.

"Everyone that lives in the county knows about the ordinance," Kozak said. "It goes to show that it has been properly publicized."

He said the department is going to take a "zero tolerance" stance on cell phone ban enforcement.

But that doesn't come without its challenges.

"The majority of offenders live and work in the Cheyenne area," Dafoe said. "Too often these drivers have become kind of police smart."

He said drivers who choose to talk on their cell phones will keep an eye out for marked vehicles and either conceal the phone or quickly hang up.

Dafoe said it is human nature to slow down or make complete stops when a marked officer is visible, but "this seems to be more of an overt act to avoid compliance with the ordinance."

"That takes a very conscious effort," he said.

The department hopes to increase enforcement of the ordinance, but Dafoe said it's difficult to catch offenders with daily traffic enforcement units, which is about two to three officers on an average day.

These officers are required by law to drive clearly marked vehicles.

"Kids don't get into the cookie jar when mom is in the kitchen," Dafoe said. "It's a rock-and-a-hard-place scenario."

Adding unmarked vehicles to focus on cell phone violations would take additional funds out of the department's budget.

"It is very resource intensive," Dafoe said.

Kozak said they plan to do cell phone ban enforcement once a month if they can. The department did another compliance study Wednesday between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Dell Range Boulevard. He said they also plan on getting the word out on the department's variable message boards around town.

"I think a lot of people might forget the hazards involved, and we want them to know that we are out there enforcing the law for good reason," Kozak said, adding that being able to focus on driving is key. "It's a split second and you could be in an emergency situation, and you need that time to react properly."