Oregon Public Broadcasting

Police departments all through Oregon are keeping their eyes open for violators of a new state law limiting drivers to hands-free mobile phones.

Some traffic officers with Portland Police Bureau, in particular, will spend the next few weeks watching busy intersections, looking for people who might be driving and talking or texting, without a Bluetooth of other hands-free gadget.

Detective Mary Wheat speaks for the department.

Mary Wheat: “We tend to do this from time to time, whether it be the seat belt law, or when the bicycle helmet law came into effect. We’re just trying to concentrate on education and enforcement of this so that people can get used to the new law.”

Officers may or may not issue citations, depending on the situation. Some motorists might only receive a warning.

So far, Portland police hasn’t taken on any specific tracking of cell phone offenders.