Tucson, others seek to require hands-free phones for drivers

While still in the draft phase, the proposal could allow law enforcement officers to pull someone over just for using a cellphone while driving — in other words, making it a primary offense.

Currently, the city's law governing texting while driving is a secondary offense, meaning an officer needs to observe the driver committing another violation — for example, speeding — in order to pull them over and cite them for texting.

The goal is to have each local jurisdiction pass the cellphone ban in the coming months and then have a period where police officers would issue warnings to drivers before writing tickets.