Mantua said it issued 10 phone tickets in May, much bigger Deptford only 4.

"I'm pleased that law enforcement is getting out and enforcing this law that will make our roads and highways safer," said Paul Moriarty (D., Gloucester), who sponsored the measure to toughen the law in the state Assembly.

"People have to change their habits," he said. "They have to get those hands-free devices and keep their hands on the wheel."

New Jersey's law does permit handheld-phoning in emergencies or to report a crime, fire or other public danger to authorities.

Pennsylvania could follow New Jersey's path, if Rep. Josh Shapiro (D., Montgomery) can find enough backing from fellow lawmakers.

Before the legislative session ends in November, a bill is expected out of the Transportation Committee to ban teenage drivers from using any phones, even hands-free.

If it does, Shapiro said he'd propose an amendment that would cover only handheld phones, but apply to all drivers.

"It's the right thing to do and it's long overdue," he said.

In 2006, more than 1,200 accidents in Pennsylvania involved someone on a handheld cell-phone, he said.

Currently, Pennsylvania is one of six states, including Massachusetts and Illinois, that leave such bans up to municipalities, according to the Governors Highway Safety Assocation.

Only a handful of Pennsylvania towns, including Conshohocken and West Conshohocken, have adopted such ordinances. But Conshohocken probably issued only one cell-phone ticket in the last year, because its violation is a secondary offense, Chief James Dougherty said.

A West Conshohocken official guessed the number there might be about 5 in two years.

Chicago's ban, on the other hand, has resulted in 25,000 tickets over the last three years, according to a Chicago Sun-Times story.

Starting July 1, Washington state will make using a handheld phone while driving a secondary offense. More than a dozen others have bans that apply just to teens.

But are drivers paying attention to these laws?

"I'm seeing more people using hands-free devices, for sure," said Pam Fischer, director of New Jersey's Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "But we're still seeing people who are not obeying the law."

At a Mount Ephraim WaWa, five guys chatting over morning coffee in the parking confessed: Sure, they use handheld phones while driving - while keeping an eye out for police.

"We're sneaks. They haven't caught us yet," said Mike Tovinsky, 49, a Mount Ephraim union insulator and bartender.

"Now the texting is out of hand," he added. "That's ridiculous."