Most Andover Drivers Got Warnings In 1st Year Of Hands-Free Law

ANDOVER, MA — It's been nearly one year since Massachusetts implemented the distracted driving law and state and local police departments have handed out over 30,000 tickets or warnings since the start date on Feb. 23, 2020.

In Andover, almost all of the stops were warnings. Out of 200 stops reported from Feb. 22, 2020 to Feb. 22, 2021, 32 resulted in fines, according to department spokesman Lt. Edward Guy. Twenty resulted in verbal warnings and 148 in written warnings.

Under the distracted driving law, drivers aren't allowed to use cell phones while behind the wheel, not even to hold while it's on speaker. The penalty for violating the law is a $100 on the first offense with increases for each successive offense.

>>White Drivers Punished Less Under MA Distracted Driving Law

Guy said that the pandemic reduced enforcement of the new law, along with other traffic enforcement.

"Initially, our officers put an emphasis on enforcing the new law, but when the pandemic hit we re-focused our efforts on the health and safety of the officers and the community," Guy said. "I think because of the pandemic and the lack of enforcement during the pandemic, drivers have not changed their behavior regarding hands-free cell phone use."

The department will be making a concerted effort on enforcing the hands-free law in the coming Spring months, the lieutenant said.

"Our officers frequently respond to accidents where an operator was distracted using a cell phone," he said. "Sometimes these accidents have resulted in injuries."

Drivers can use hands-free technology including Bluetooth, "single tap or swipe" to activate or deactivate hands-free mode, navigation technology mounted to the car's dash and phone use in emergency situations. Drivers may use their phones if they are stationary and not in an active traffic lane.

"I think drivers who violate the hands-free law need to re-think their behavior and not only be concerned about getting a ticket but also how their unsafe behavior could have dire consequences for themselves, their passengers or other people on the roadways," Guy concluded.

The law also outlines that police officers have to collect data on the race and sex of the people cited, as a way to ensure police are not using the law to target groups.

MassDOT provided Patch with data on traffic stops under the law between Feb. 23 and Dec. 31 showing how many people state and local police are pulling over. Statewide, data from the first 10 months of enforcement shows Black and Hispanic drivers are more likely to end up with either a fine or criminal charge.

Andover Police overwhelmingly pulled over white drivers for distracted driving, according to the MassDOT data. But other police agencies that made stops in town, including state police, handed out significantly more citations to non-white drivers.

White drivers stopped in Andover received warnings over 80 percent of the time. But just 55 percent of Black drivers and 65 percent of Hispanic drivers received warnings.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.