I spent a few hours on Wednesday with Officer William Kinsey with the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. I wanted to see how he enforced the state's new ban on talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving.
It's a secondary offense, so police have pull you over for another infraction, such as speeding, before they can write you a ticket for cell phone abuse. Of course, a cop who sees you chatting away can easily find something else you're doing wrong.
You can read more about the afternoon in Sunday's Crime Beat column.
But Kinsey told me that even if he sees someone talking -- and we saw plenty on Wednesday on I-95 north and south of Baltimore -- that wouldn't hunt for an infraction just to initiate a stop. So the driver of a brown pickup truck who was talking on his phone escaped a ticket because he was only going six miles over the limit -- short of what normally attracts Kinsey's attention.
Who did get a ticket? The driver of a sedan who had a phone in one hand and was using his knees to steer as he sped up I-95 in rush hour at 82 mph. His right hand had been injured and was in a bandage.
Kinsey gave him a ticket for the cell phone -- $40 -- and warning for speeding.