539 tickets issued on Kauai

LIHUE >> Kauai police say they have issued 539 tickets to people using cellphones while driving, an offense that can come with a pricey $300 fine for first-time lawbreakers.

Hawaii officials are cracking down on the use of hand-held mobile electronic devices while driving and charging fines far above the national average of $112 for the offense, The Garden Island reported.

The state bans the use of hand-held devices while driving, and it’s also illegal for drivers under age 18 to talk on the phone, even if using a hands-free device.

Violating such laws can result in a fine of $250 to $300. It doesn’t quite compete with Alaska’s $10,000 fine for phoning and driving, but it’s higher than penalties in most other states.

“All forms of distracted driving are dangerous, but studies continue to show that texting/messaging while driving is the most dangerous and significantly increases the likelihood of a crash,” wrote Roy Asher, assistant chief of the Patrol Services Bureau, in an email to The Garden Island.

During fiscal year 2014, police departments statewide issued more than 11,000 citations for distracted driving. State Department of Transportation Director Ford Fuchigami agrees that texting is a particularly worrying form of distraction.

“While anything that takes your eyes off of the road, hands off of the wheel, or mind off of the task of driving is a hazard, there is a heightened concern about the risks of texting while driving because it combines all three types of distraction — visual, manual and cognitive,” Fuchigami said in a statement.