By Amy RoeNew Jersey urges drivers to “put down the phone.” Virginia tells teens to “hang up and drive.” Increasingly, states are banning drivers from using handheld cell phones, but that doesn’t mean people are listening.

With little knowledge or enforcement of the bans in some states and no insurance penalties for many drivers, it’s not clear whether the laws are much of a deterrent.

Staking out high school parking lots in North Carolina, researchers found the number of teen drivers on cell phones was essentially unchanged after the state banned the practice, according to a study released last week by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Two months before the ban’s December 2006 start, 11% of teen drivers were observed using cell phones as they left school in the afternoon. About five months after the ban went into effect, 12% of teen drivers were spotted using phones.

Girls were more likely than boys to use their cell phones while driving. SUV drivers were more likely than sedan drivers, and solo drivers were more likely than those with passengers, the study said.

Cell phone use remained steady — about 13% — at comparison sites in South Carolina, where teen driver cell phone use isn’t restricted.

Enforcement varies

Motorists caught chatting on a handheld cell can be hit with a ticket in four states — Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Utah — as well as the District of Columbia. Bans will be effective July 1 in California and Washington state. 

No state bans all types of cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) while driving, but 17 states and the District of Columbia do for novice drivers.

Only two states — Washington and New Jersey — ban text messaging for all drivers, but others are expected to follow, beginning with Minnesota on Aug. 1. A 2008 survey by Nationwide insurance reported that 18% of motorists said they text-messaged while driving.