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Nashua Police Give Drivers Grace Period In First Days Of Hands-Free Law

Some police are taking it easy on drivers in the first few days of the state’s new law banning the use of hand-held devices while behind the wheel.

In Nashua, officers have pulled over 30 people for using a cell phone while driving since law went into effect July 1.

But Captain James Maloney says not a single driver received a ticket for that offense.

“Total of 30 warnings on those 30 stops, so the vast majority of the time the officers were using those as an informational opportunity to make sure people were aware of the law."

There were a handful of cases where those stops led to arrests for separate offenses.

Maloney says he’s noticed fewer drivers using cell phones with the new law in effect.

He also cautions officers may not continue to be so forgiving.

“I think the state and other agencies have done a really good job of making this law public we would expect everyone knows about the law by now.”

New Hampshire is now the 15th state to ban the use of cell phones and other electronic devices while driving.

State police didn't go quite so easy on drivers violating the new law. The Associated Press reports troopers wrote 96 citations and issued 47 warnings over the July 4th weekend.

Michael serves as NHPR's Program Director. Michael came to NHPR in 2012, working as the station's newscast producer/reporter. In 2015, he took on the role of Morning Edition producer. Michael worked for eight years at The Telegraph of Nashua, covering education and working as the metro editor.
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