With the law requiring drivers to use hands-free devices when making cellphone calls taking effect today, the odds of scofflaws being cited depend on where they are driving.
Although police agencies around Southern California said they would be enforcing the law, some agencies will be more aggressive than others, with the California Highway Patrol vowing the most rigorous enforcement.
It's another milestone in California's commuter culture, alongside other firsts such as the seat-belt law, child-seat requirements -- and if you want to go far back -- the restriction of the rolling "boulevard stop" in the 1920s.
As with all these driving rules, changing behavior takes time -- and is influenced not just by police crackdowns but by peer pressure, not to mention the fear of tickets.
How much do drivers have to fear? It depends.
Lt. Ruben De La Torre said the Los Angeles Police Department would go through an "educational" period, during which those cited would mostly be drivers who not only had mobile phones pressed to their ear but also were not driving safely.
"It's on a case-by-case basis," he said. "But people have to be aware that it's a clear and obvious violation."
Police departments in San Diego and Oceanside are going a step further, granting an official 30-day grace period before issuing tickets, even though the law itself doesn't include a grace period. "We're trying to ease people into this," said Gary Hassen, a detective with the San Diego Police Department.
But the CHP said drivers had been given enough time and promised a crackdown.
Tom Marshall, a spokesman in Sacramento, said the CHP would enforce the law "fairly and aggressively." He noted that the law was passed in 2006 and that motorists had been given time to buy the technology needed to use a cellphone legally while driving.
"People ask us, 'Is there going to be a grace period?' We say, 'Yes, it's June 30,' " Marshall said. "The Legislature has talked about it. The governor talked about it when he was in L.A. Caltrans has the signs. The phone companies are all advertising because they want to sell the earpieces. I don't think anyone can make the case they haven't had a chance to hear the law is going to be in effect."
He said enforcement would dovetail neatly into a period of additional staffing for the Fourth of July holiday -- with 80% of CHP officers being on duty starting Thursday evening and ending Sunday.
