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(INDIANAPOLIS) — Police say the first six months of Indiana’s ban on cell phone use while driving

has gotten drivers to change their habits.

The ban took effect July 1, replacing a narrower ban on texting while driving, which police said was

difficult to enforce. In the first six months of the new law, police issued about 1,900 tickets for

violating the ban after it took effect in July. But State Police spokesman Ron Galaviz says officers

issued nearly three times that many warnings. He says the main focus was on making people aware

of the law. He says the balance is shifting more towards enforcement now.

Governor Holcomb credited the law in his State of the State address with reducing the number of car

crashes. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute says there have been 400 fewer cell phone-related

crashes since the law took effect compared to the same six-month period last year, a 12% improvement.