It’s here: Drive hands-free or paytheprice

It’s hard to discard old habits, but putting that cellphone down while driving better be at the top of your list.

With the passage of the long overdue hands-free legislation in November, police can now pull over drivers caught handling their cellphones. It became effective this week.

Massachusetts became the last New England state to enact such a law.

Previously, only motorists 18 and older were allowed to use their phone to make and receive calls while driving. Now, holding your phone except to activate it is no longer allowed, nor cradling it between your and ear and shoulder. And don’t try using that phone if your vehicle is stationary, like at a red light or stop sign. That’s also a no-no.

It’s also important to understand this hands-free law doesn’t apply to drivers under 18; they’re still prohibited from using a phone under any circumstances.

Eligible drivers now must choose from the many high-tech options included in newer vehicles, like Bluetooth, or perhaps through that Apple watch you’re wearing. There are also low-tech options, including the mounting of your phone on the dashboard in speaker mode.

Unfortunately, this law lagged years behind the ban on texting while driving for several reasons.

Gov. Charlie Baker, who opposed this handheld-device use ban legislation initially, came around in late 2017 after a rise in fatal distracted-driving accidents and advances in technology. He subsequently filed his own comprehensive distracted-driving bill.

But the main roadblock to an earlier passage centered around concerns about potential racial profiling that could occur during these traffic stops.

Many law-enforcement officials opposed the intent of some lawmakers to link what to them was a straight-forward public-safety bill with civil-rights protections beyond the scope of this legislation. That impasse prevented the bill’s passage through several legislative sessions, needlessly exposing the state’s residents to serious injuries and potential fatalities.

The reconciled bill finally broke that deadlock with datacollection requirements that track the age, gender and race of every motorist issued a citation or warning. The original Senate bill called for state agencies to collect data on all stops, even if they do not result in a citation.

This legislation finally closes the loophole that existed in the texting ban. That prohibition was virtually impossible to enforce since police couldn’t differentiate between texting or punching some numbers in your cellphone.

Thankfully, motorists will receive a short grace period to get acclimated to the new law. Through March, police will only issue warnings to hand-held offenders. After that, you’re going to pay a price for not playing by the rules.

An $100 fine will be exacted for a first offense; that climbs to $250 for a second offense, and $500 for third and subsequent offenses.

Auto insurance surcharges kick in at the third offense, which will penalize scofflaws with higher premiums associated with those traffic citations.

“The actual dollar amount is going to vary based on an individual’s particular insurance, but surcharges could range from $100 to $300, or even more depending on other situations that they have,” Nick Fyntrilakis, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents, told the newspaper.

However, preventing injuries and saving lives constitute this handsfree bill’s ultimate bottom line.

That’s why motorists, passengers and pedestrians will be better off because of it.