FOX5 Vegas - KVVUDriven to distraction: The fight is not over

Police officers in southern Nevada have issued more than a thousand citations to violators of the state's new handheld cell phone ban. The law went into effect on January 1, and proponents tell FOX5 their mission is far from over.

For Jenifer Watkins, holding her baby daughter is nothing short of a miracle. Her life changed eight years ago.

"I just remember being buckled up in the front seat, and waking up a few days later not knowing where I was," said Watkins.

Jenifer and her husband, Richard, were stopped on US 95, helping a friend when another driver, talking on a cell phone and playing with the radio, slammed into them.

Jenifer was in a coma for three days, hospitalized for seven weeks, and she suffered 16 life-threatening injuries.

"I have certain limitations that I can and cannot do with my right arm or just in general... I'm permanently disabled because of my injuries," Watkins said.

Richard Watkins was also hospitalized and suffered permanent brain damage.

The Watkins family, and others who know the perils of distracted driving, scored a victory last year. After three attempts, the Nevada Legislature approved a bill aimed directly at cell phones and other handheld devices.

Warnings were issued starting in October, and the fines started at the beginning of this year.

"The time for warnings and excuses are over, and we're definitely going to be citing," said Nevada Highway Patrol Tpr. Jeremie Elliott.

The trooper has seen and heard almost every excuse in the book.

"Some people think they can do it all and they're above that law, but unfortunately, they are not," he said.

Last month, during a 10-day enforcement operation, NHP issued 54 citations to drivers caught using their cell phones. And since January 1, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police traffic officers have written more than 980 tickets.

The law forbids any handheld use while the vehicle is in operation, even while stopped at a light.

Read more: NRS statute on handheld usage

It didn't take our photographer very long to observe drivers appearing to violate the new law, although some are being more discreet about it. They are keeping the phones on their lap, for example, out of view to people outside.

"The message is: Stop the texts, stop the wrecks," said Brian Lavoie, who spent more than a year lobbying state lawmakers. His 18-year-old daughter Hillary was a passenger, riding home from UNR when the car crashed.

She was ejected and killed. The driver was reportedly using Facebook in the minutes before impact.

"Until you join the club that my wife and I belong to, which is a club of losing a child, I guess you won't understand," LaVoie said. "And you won't understand the passion that we have to prevent this from happening to anyone else."

But does the law work to prevent accidents? In Nevada, it is still too early to say.

But the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety argues, "There is no evidence so far that banning hand-held phone use reduces crashes."

For researchers at UNLV, distracted driving is a hot topic with some interesting tools of the trade, including a driving simulator.

"We use it for many different things, including looking at the effect of distraction," said Pushkin Kachroo, who leads the university's Transportation Research Center.

"When you look at the cost to society as far as safety is concerned... it's tremendous," he added.

We had a FOX5 intern try out the simulator, mimicking a congested drive on Maryland Parkway. She survived the phone call, but when it came to sending a text message, the virtual vehicle became a crumpled mess.

Kachroo said it is evidence of reality, and argues there is no doubt that distraction causes accidents.

"When I get into my car, if I'm thinking if I have to go to work or do some shopping… I hope I get there safely, and in a reasonable amount of time. And for that, we need a safe transportation system," said Kachroo.

It's not just cell phones, however. The age of multi-tasking has led drivers to do everything from grooming behind the wheel to eating full meals. Drive thru attendants at In-N-Out Burger, for example, offer customers a special box if they wish to eat in the car.

Surprising to some is that Nevada already had a distracted driving law on the books. Tpr. Elliott said the law falls under ‘due care,' but officers rarely enforced it because they needed to convince a judge that the driver was, in fact, distracted.

The new handheld law makes the violations very specific, with fines starting at $50, then $100 for the second offense, and $250 each time after that.

"I don't know how much time you spent up in Carson City, but we settled," said LaVoie. "We took light penalties in order to get this law passed."

Parents like Brian LaVoie and Sandy Watkins said the only way people respond is with a strong message.

"I have pictures I keep in my purse, and people say, ‘why do you have those pictures with you after all these years?' I said to show people what this does to them. How this affects lives," Sandy explained.

And for them, the new law is only step one. There will be more trips to Carson City with, hopefully, fewer distractions along the way.

"It's a start, and we're happy," said Watkins. "The next step is getting fines up higher and making it stricter… This fight will never be over."

Nevada Department of Transportation statistics show there are more than 3,500 distraction-related crashes in Nevada every year, and more than 60 deaths in the past five years. Often times though, distraction goes unreported, and therefore the actual number could be much higher.

Copyright 2012 KVVU (KVVU Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.