Chicago DUI attorney comments on cell phone traps

This Chicago DUI attorney has posted here and here about distracted driving.

Apparently, the big news today is where to avoid getting caught breaking the law.

August 2, Chicago, Il

Drivers in Chicago are most likely to get ticketed for driving while talking on a cell phone if they do it downtown or on the Near North Side.

That's according to a Chicago Sun-Times analysis of tickets issued during the first half of this year.

Particular hot spots in those areas include stretches of Ontario, Ohio and State streets, the analysis found.

Other parts of the city where you're more likely than in most places to get a ticket for cell phone use while driving:

• The South Side's 21st Police District, which includes Hyde Park and Kenwood.

• And on the Northwest Side, the 17th District, including Sauganash and Albany Park.

Chicago neighborhoods where drivers are issued the fewest cell phone tickets? Those were mostly in high-crime areas like Englewood, where police officers say they tend to have their hands full with other crimes.

Overall, the number of tickets written for driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone since the city's ban was enacted in 2005 is on the rise. There was a dip in 2008, when the city revised its ban, to let driver's keep their licenses and pay their fine by mail and not have to go to court if they weren't cited for any traffic violation beside cell phone use.

But will handing out cell phone tickets put a dent in the number of drivers who use cell phones while driving?

Getting a ticket in Lake View last January had an impact on Scarlett Wallen. Wallen, 42, said she always uses a headset now.

"It made me more careful because I don't want to get another ticket," she said. "It wasn't cheap."

Since she got the ticket, she said, "I've told my friends to be more careful."

No one needs to remind you that you will get ticketed if you don’t have a headset on while driving and using your cell right?