But Tom Marshall, a CHP spokesman, said, "If you are text messaging and we see it's affecting your driving, we can still pull you over" for distracted driving.
But the offense is not distracted driving or, for example, driving with a bag of French fries in your lap.
Police actually cite you for what happens as a result of being inattentive, such as impeding traffic or an improper lane change.
Will getting a ticket for talking on a cellphone result in a higher insurance rate for motorists?
No. But there's a chance it could eventually.
Cellphone violations won't result in any points being tacked onto your driving record -- insurance carriers use those points to determine if you're a good or bad driver. But the tickets are still on your driving record.
Darrel Ng, a spokesman for the California Department of Insurance, said that in the future, carriers might apply to the state to use tickets when setting rates, although they'd likely have to prove a correlation between getting those tickets and accident rates.
What other states have similar laws, and how are those working out?
New York was the first state to institute a hand-held ban, beginning in 2001, and Connecticut and New Jersey have followed suit.
From 2001 through 2006, police in New York issued 976,725 citations to motorists for holding their phones while driving.
Even more interesting, the number of citations has increased each year, with 285,684 tickets being given in 2006, the latest year for which numbers are available.
With more than 11.3 million licensed drivers in New York, it's probably safe to assume that an awful lot of people are not getting caught.
What are some ways to comply with the laws without spending gobs of money?
First and foremost, learn how to use the voice recognition system that comes with most cellphones. Voice recognition usually requires users to touch only one button and then say a person's name to make a call.
Surely the much talked-about Apple iPhone, which starts at $399, comes with voice recognition?
No, it doesn't. And an Apple spokeswoman last week wouldn't tell me if voice recognition would be included in next month's software update or future models of the phone. It is a feature you can get with a BlackBerry phone.
What are some other ways to go hands-free?
There's no shortage of gizmos out there. Here are three easy ways to be a good citizen:
