On January 1,  it became illegal for drivers to use hand-held mobile devices while driving on Austin roads.

The ban came after the Austin City Council passed an ordinance that expands the city’s current prohibition on texting while driving. It has been in effect since 2009, but had loop- holes that make it difficult for police to crackdown on texting and driving.

“It’s important to expand the cell phone ban because I don’t like seeing innocent people hurt or injured,” criminal justice teacher David Lopez said.

Cell phone use is now estimated to be involved in 26 percent of all motor vehicle accidents, according to a study by the National Safety Council re- leased this year.

“Nearly one in five crashes in Texas involves driver dis- traction,” according to a Texas Department of Transportation website.

There are currently a few statewide restrictions on cell phone use in Texas, but it is still legal to use a cell phone while driving in most cases. Drivers with learner’s permits are pro-hibited from using handheld cell phones in the first six months of driving and drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using wireless communications devices. All drivers are prohibited from using handheld devices in school crossing zones.

“This ordinance is good for drivers and it’ll makes the roads a lot safer.” said a police officer on campus who asked for their name not to be used in this article.

Police have found it difficult to enforce the ordinance because they had to catch drivers in the act to make a traffic stop.

“There has been multiple occasions where I was driving behind a car that was swerving, and when I pulled up beside them I saw that they were texting,” said Akins Principles of Law teacher Dr. Robyn Katz.

Austin’s new expanded ordinance will make it easier to enforce because now, not only texting will be illegal, but dialing a cell phone for a call or any other use will be illegal too. This applies to bicyclists as well.

The only acceptation would be to dial 911 in case of emergencies.

Last year in Texas alone, there were 94,943 crashes that had to do with a mobile device. Over 459 people were killed in those crashes, according to textinganddrivingsaftey.com. Others were seriously injured including a family friend of sophomore Saul Fuentes.

“You never really think something like that would happen to someone you know personally,” Fuentes said. “Especially when the accident was due to something as small as a mobile device.”

Being pulled over by the police for usage of your mobile device while driving can result in a $500 fine or more. Police are cracking down to make sure these accidents don’t happen.

The ordinance defines portable devices as any of the following:

• Mobile telephone
• personal digital assistant
• MP3 or other hand-held music player
• electronic reading device
• laptop computer
• pager
• broadband personal communication device
• GPS or navigation system
• electronic gaming device
• portable computing device

For more information about the ban go to the City of Austin’s Web site with information about the ban at www.austintexas.gov/handsfree

City of Austin’s PSA to inform drivers about the new law