Handheld electronic devices while a vehicle is in operation were banned here as well.
Exception is Emergency responders (police, fire, ambulance) in the course of their work...
The law is basically unenforceable anyway...
Therein lies the problem with all the BS laws and regulations passed by self serving politicians. People in this country have been ignoring rules and regulations and getting away with it for ages, and the cell phone/texting laws are the worst to date for lack of compliance and enforcement. There is only one way to stop this, and it involves technology that already exists. Once a vehicle is moving, the devices should be deactivated. It's already possible with software on cell phones that have GPS chips, and I imagine it wouldn't be difficult to also add systems to vehicles to block the ability of hand held devices, laptops, etc. to communicate with the outside world when the vehicle is in motion. If that text or call is so important, pull off the road and stop. For those of us with a few grey hairs, it is still easier than what we had to do in our day. Need to make a call, you pulled off the road and found a pay phone at a gas station. Now all I ask is that they pull off the road to make a call from the comfort of their car.
Jerry