CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevadans have three months to wean themselves from talking and texting while driving, and law enforcement officers are at the ready to offer some stern support to help them along.
After that, it will be tough love and tickets.
The new law banning talking on a hand-held cell phone or operating an electronic device while driving takes effect Oct. 1. Hands-free calling is still allowed.
Valerie Evans, spokeswoman for the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety in Las Vegas, said drivers should get used to the idea quickly that texting, holding a phone and driving won't be tolerated.
"You're not going to get out of a ticket," she said. "If you're operating a vehicle, you cannot have an electronic device in your hand."
Not even at red lights or stop signs.
When the state Legislature passed the bill earlier this year, Nevada joined eight other states and the District of Columbia to prohibit all drivers from using a hand-held cell phone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Nevada also is among 34 states and the District of Columbia to ban text messaging for all drivers.
State Sen. Shirley Breeden, D-Las Vegas, sponsor of the bill, said Nevada "will have one of the toughest laws in the nation," a bit ironic given Nevada's reputation as a libertarianism state.
"I think it's a big day here in Nevada," Breeden said. "The goal is to save lives."
Jenifer Watkins of Las Vegas knows too well the consequences of distracted driving. Watkins, 28, and her husband Richard suffered brain and other serious injuries when a pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old slammed into the car they were sitting in on the side of a road in 2004.
She had to learn to walk and talk again, and both still suffer long-term effects.
"No cell phone call or text message is worth someone's life," she said.
Law enforcement agencies around the state are planning a three-month education campaign when offending drivers will only be given warnings. Billboards, radio and television ads will help spread the message.
But come Jan. 1, violators will be slapped with fines — $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second and $250 for a third or subsequent violation within a seven-year period. The amounts don't include other administrative fees tacked on by courts.
For a generation that's grown up exercising nimble thumbs on tiny keyboards, it will be a change, said 18-year-old Carlie Callahan.
"Their phone's their life," Callahan said of teens and young adults. She concedes she has used a cell phone while driving — mostly talking — but believes the new law will improve safety.
"I think it's good," Courtney Lange agreed. Laughing, the 18-year-old added, "Especially since I text and drive, so it will really be good for me."
The no-hands prohibition is generating interest in Bluetooth devices that transfer data from one device to another over a short distance, like between a cell phone and a headset that can be worn while driving.
Randy Reid, a sales rep at an AT&T retail store in Carson City, said demand for wireless connectivity electronics have picked up in recent weeks.
"We've sold quite a bit more than normal," he said, especially devices that attach to a vehicle's visor. Earlier this week, those were sold out.
Ardin Patterson, who also works at the store, she plans to buy one "as soon as I get paid."
She, too, acknowledges talking on the road. "I have. I don't anymore," she said. "It's not worth getting in a car accident over."
The Nevada Department of Public Safety said 53 percent of teens in a survey said they text while driving. The agency also said distracted driving caused 57 fatal car accidents and 7,200 injury accidents from 2005 to 2009 in Nevada.
It's unknown exactly how many of those accidents involved cell phones or other distractions such as putting on makeup, eating or fumbling with a CD or radio.
Regardless, officers say they see the evidence of cell phone induced inattention every day on the highways — vehicles drifting out of lanes, slowing down, speeding up or staying put long after a light turns green.
Experts say talking on a phone or texting reduces driving-related brain activity as much as 37 percent and is akin to driving drunk.
Nevada's law makes it a primary offense, meaning officers can pull someone over if they see them using a phone or glancing down at a screen. That could subject motorists to more costly tickets if their car insurance or registration has lapsed.
There is an exemption for emergency responders and law enforcement officers acting within the scope of their duties, or someone reporting a medical emergency, criminal act or seeking emergency assistance. Licensed amateur radio operators during disasters or drills also are exempt.