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

TEWKSBURY, 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.

Tewksbury police made more stops than all but a handful of city and town police departments, but almost all of them were warnings. A dataset obtained from MassDOT shows that out of 322 stops reported by Tewksbury police through Dec. 31, 304 were warnings.

The department also handed out 11 fines, filed six criminal complaints and arrested one person.

>>White Drivers Punished Less Under MA Distracted Driving Law

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.

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.

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.

Tewksbury Police mostly pulled over white drivers, and most drivers of all races received written warnings. Among those pulled over by Tewksbury police, 87 percent of Hispanic drivers, 95 percent of white drivers and 100 percent of Black drivers were given warnings.

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