Suffolk County, NY, and the town of Carteret, NJ, passed laws early this month restricting the use of a cell phone while driving. Suffolk County, NY, became what is believed to be the first county and largest community in the nation to ban motorists from talking on a mobile phone while driving. The law, which passed Oct. 3, 2000, and still must be approved by the county executive, would fine drivers $150 for using a cell phone. Exceptions would allow using an earpiece or other hands-free attachment, as well as dialing or answering a call and making 911 calls. Two days later, the town of Carteret, NJ, passed a similar law, prohibiting motorists from using a hand-held phone under the threat of a $250 penalty. Massachusetts state legislators also held hearings on the subject earlier this month. As many as 300 cities are believed to have considered such restrictions. And last month, Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the country, became the first in its industry to publicly support state legislation requiring cell phone users to use hands-free devices while behind the wheel. In Brooklyn, OH, the first city to ban using a hand-held cell phone while driving, the fines for a first offense are only $3, escalating as high as $100 if a driver gets caught a second time. Though more than 300 citations have been handed out since September 1999, there have been no repeat offenders. Although 37 states have considered such laws since 1995, only California, Massachusetts, and Florida have minor restrictions about cell phones in cars, and no state currently bans using the phones while driving, said Matt Sundeen of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ transportation program. Currently, 15 states restrict the use of headsets in cars, Sundeen says, which could hamper efforts to encourage use of hands-free devices for their phones. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1997 showed that motorists were four times more likely to crash when using cell phones. And a 1999 report by the Center of Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida found existing studies show the chances of having an accident while driving and talking on a mobile phone increased anywhere from 34 percent to more than 300 percent. But one stumbling block to legislation has been the dearth of information about exactly how many crashes are caused because a driver was using a mobile phone. Currently, six states – Montana, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee – collect data on cell-phone use and accidents. Some experts contend that town-by-town restrictions are confusing and unfair. “And we’re also overlooking the benefits of having a cell phone,” said Dee Yankoskie of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. “More than 118,000 calls are made per day to 911, so they’re very beneficial for drivers to have.”