Report Blames Leaders for Driver Cellphone Use

Thousands of drivers in the District apparently failed to get the message that driving with a cellphone pressed to their ear is illegal, and District officials are partly to blame, a report issued this week to D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) suggests.

The Police Complaints Board, an independent agency that is the governing body of the Office of Public Complaints, reported that from August 2004 to March 2007 more than 20,000 drivers were ticketed for violating the Distracted Driving Act of 2004. The act prohibits motorists from using cellphones or electronic devices while driving in the District, unless the phone or device is equipped with a hands-free accessory.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, 32 percent of those ticketed were District residents and 68 percent were from Maryland, Virginia or other states.

The report notes that there are no signs on major roads entering or passing through the District warning about the prohibition, which prompted numerous complaints to the Office of Police Complaints from phone users who were stopped. The agency also received at least 18 complaints from people claiming they witnessed District police officers talking on their cellphones while driving.

"It is plain for everyone to see that there is massive noncompliance with the law in Washington," the report says. "Many drivers are no doubt emboldened to ignore the restrictions . . . thereby endangering other motorists and pedestrians."

"The District has been lacking in its efforts to publicize and enforce the cellular phone law," said Philip K. Eure, the Office of Public Complaints' executive director.

Eure called for "a sustained, long-term public-awareness campaign" that would include signs on major approaches to the District, electronic display boards, informational materials for mobile phone retailers, hotels and car rental agencies, and continued police training about the law.