State: Nearly 10,000 Citations Since Hands Free Law Started

ST. PAUL -- Nearly 10,000 people have been ticketed for distracted driving since the state's new hands-free law went into effect on August 1st. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says police have written 9,727 citations so far.

The largest age group getting tickets is 30 to 49 year-olds with over 4,500, 16 to 29 year-olds had over 3,500 tickets, and drivers over the age of 50 had over 1,600 tickets.

The Department of Public Safety says the number of distraction-related fatalities has gone down. Since the law went into effect there have been nine distraction-related fatalities, which represents five percent of the total number of fatalities. Two years ago, during the same time period, there were 18 distraction-related fatalities, which represented 11 percent of the overall number of deaths.