Police Use Cell Phone Stops To Look For Other Violations

El Paso’s cell phone driving ban is now in effect.

But near UTEP on the ban’s first day, our cameras caught many drivers breaking the law.

Police say they’re looking for any violation, but texting below the wheel will be more difficult to prove in court.

“The officer has to see it an be 100 percent sure,” said Detective Mike Baranyay with the El Paso Police Department.

If you play music through your phone, changing the song or volume while driving is technically illegal.

But how will an officer know if you’re holding an iPhone, which violates the ordinance, or an iPod, which doesn’t?

“It’s a discretionary call on the officer’s part,” Baranyay said.

That means an officer can pull you over if he or she thinks you’re using a phone, but you can’t get cited for using a music-playing device.

You won’t get a ticket til May, but you can get a verbal warning.

And if the officer spots another violation, he or she can ticket you for it.

In May, a ticket will cost you $114.

“I just put my phone away and I just ignore it until I get out of the car,” said UTEP student Andrea Felea.