Drivers cited in cell-phone crackdown

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The use of cell phones while driving has been banned in Albuquerque for the last five years, but enforcement has always been a challenge.

Now the Albuquerque Police Department has started a two-week crackdown, and in the first day 30 people got tickets.

APD staked out one of the busiest intersections in the city on Wednesday: San Mateo and Montgomery boulevards.

Traffic Officer Tim Dwyer said most of the drivers are very understanding. He stopped a lot of people from out of town as well.

During one 10-minute period, Dwyer and his partner stopped and ticketed three people.

An increase in complaints to the department prompted the crackdown.

Dwyer said people seem to forget it is against the law in Albuquerque to talk on the cell phone while driving. Dwyer also sees a lot of people holding their cell phone in their hands but not up to their ear, and he says that is not hands-free making it against the law.

There is no statewide ban on using the cell phone while driving, but local ordinances are in place in the Albuquerque metro, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Gallup, Taos and Española.