The Colorado Department of Transportation wants Colorado drivers to begin preparing for Jan. 1, 2025, when state law will crack down on people holding cellphones while driving.

The penalties should make drivers sit up and take notice, starting with a $75 fine and two license suspension points for the first offense. First-time violators can have the charge dismissed if they provide proof of purchasing a hands-free accessory.

For a second offense within 24 months, drivers will be fined $150 and three license suspension points. For a third/subsequent offense within 24 months, the penalty carries a $250 fine and four license suspension points.

To get a citation, a law enforcement officer must see the driver using a cellphone in a manner that causes the driver to be “careless and imprudently.” The law does not allow the officer to confiscate the cellphone.

Between now and the end of the year, CDOT urges drivers to prepare by acquiring hands-free accessories such as dashboard mounts or using car speakerphone systems.

There are exemptions when reporting an emergency or sitting in a parked vehicle. The law also exempts utility workers, code enforcement officers, animal protection officers, and first responders.

The new law is 15 years in the making, although, in the last seven years, it’s been the brainchild of former state Sen. Lois Court, D-Denver, who began pushing for hands-free cellphone use in 2017.

The law finally requiring drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel and not on their cellphones made it to the finish line in the 2024 legislative session, with Senate Bill 24-065, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Rhonda Fields of Aurora and Chris Hansen of Denver, who succeeded Court when she retired due to illness. In the House, Democratic Reps. Meg Froelich of Englewood and David Ortiz of Littleton carried the bill.

“A car is not a moving phone booth,” Court said on her third attempt in 2019.

“I have to give credit to the incredible citizens who would not let this issue go away,” Court told Colorado Politics. People worked tirelessly for years to keep the issue in front of the legislature, especially after she stepped down in 2020, Court added.

She said she would lay in her bed, struggling with Gillian-Barre syndrome, and couldn’t relax because of all the unfinished business she wanted to address, with distracted driving near the top of the list.

Fortunately, “when the citizens want it, and the elected officials respond, that’s the best public policy. I’m thrilled it finally got done.”

The first attempt at hands-free cellphone use came in 2009 when lawmakers tried to pass a law mandating all drivers to stop using cell phones while operating a motor vehicle. However, that 2009 law was watered down to apply only to those under 18, with limited restrictions for adult drivers.

According to CDOT’s 2024 Driver Behavior Report, “77% of Colorado drivers admitted to using their phones while driving, with 45% saying a hands-free feature in their car would stop them from using their phone.”

CDOT also said distracted drivers “pose a particularly high risk to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. From 2015 to 2023, deaths among pedestrians and bicyclists increased by 50% and 112.5%, respectively, while Colorado’s population grew by less than 8% during the same period.” However, the agency did not link those accidents to cellphone use while driving.

Colorado will become the 30th state to ban holding a cellphone while driving.

More information can be found at codot.gov/handsfreeco.