Bend police conducted an operation focused on pedestrian safety Wednesday at the intersection of Southeast 15th Street and Southeast Riviera Drive.

To draw drivers’ attention to the scene where police officers waited to ticket violators, officers erected cardboard signs warning of an enforcement detail ahead. They marked out a special zone of orange traffic cones — a well-advertised trap.

Two police officers shooed away a woman passerby who attempted to flag drivers and warn them of police up ahead.

“It wasn’t a secret we were there,” said Bend Police Traffic Officer Matt Baldwin. “There were some drivers who were still on their cellphone by the time they got to me. They drove through something so obvious and had no idea.”

Bend Police cited six drivers over four hours for use of cellphones while operating a motor vehicle. The fine starts at $110 and can go up to $250.

Oregon in January 2010 outlawed the use of mobile devices while driving. In January 2012, the Legislature closed a loophole that allowed drivers to use cellphones for business calls. The law, which applies to texting, as well as any other use of a mobile phone, is a class-D violation. That means a police officer needs no other reason to stop a driver other than seeing a cellphone in action.

“I cite people a couple times a week,” Deschutes County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Bilyeu said. “It’s like the seatbelt law — if I went out just to catch people on their cellphones, I could get a lot of people each day.”

Last year, statewide convictions for using mobile phones while driving rang in at 22,892, according to Oregon State Police spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings. OSP alone cited 2,151 and warned 1,878, nearly 300 more interactions than in 2011.

The big change, Hastings said, is that previously, authorities were more apt to give drivers warnings while they learned about the law and its exceptions.

“As you see, total contacts and citations trending up, warnings going down,” Hastings said. “The honeymoon is ending for those who think a warning is more likely than a traffic citation.”

In 2011, one year after the law went into effect, OSP was giving approximately two warnings per citation, according to information Hastings provided. So far this year, the ratio has flipped, and police have given two citations for every warning.

Despite the increase in citations, challenges persist. Sheriff’s Sgt. Bilyeu believes drivers are getting sneakier with their cellphone use.

“If we see it, it’s easy to enforce,” Bilyeu said. “But people see us in their rearview mirror or up ahead of them and drop the phones in their laps. We might think we see somebody talking, but when we get a better look, the phone is gone.”

The county is employing a heavier hand with cellphone violators, but still gives out a fair number of warnings, the sergeant said.

“I’d say, realistically, that I think the Sheriff’s Office writes far more warnings on that rather than citations,” he said. “We are writing a lot more citations than before, but still giving a lot of warnings.”

Baldwin, who patrols Bend on a motorcycle, said he has an advantage over officers in patrol cars. When an officer in a car sees a person looking into his or her lap, it’s a safe assumption but not definitive that the driver is texting, Baldwin said. With a motorcycle, the officer can ride right up to the driver’s window at a traffic light.

“I’ve been able to get so close to a car that I could watch them text,” Baldwin said. “It’s probably the most efficient way to get people when they are texting.”

The law still has exceptions, mostly geared toward emergency personnel and situations. For the average commuter, the law allows only the use of a hands-free device while driving. Despite this, Baldwin said he doesn’t see a lot of hands-free devices.

“I’ve made stops before where the driver has a Bluetooth device but doesn’t use it,” he said. “It’s an easy option to make talking while driving legal and safe. I’m not sure why it’s not working.”

OSP Sgt. David MacKenzie believes the citations will continue to climb. As an administrator, he said patrol officers talk to him about the frustrations of not being able to enforce the law.

“The more people flaunt it in front of you, the more frustrated you become,” MacKenzie said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they started cracking down on it.”

And with an increase in the number of applications available on smartphones, MacKenzie believes drivers will become more distracted and less aware of their surroundings.

“It’s a crash waiting to happen,” he said. “With more functions — texting, GPS, phone and others — people will find more ways to keep their eyes off of the road. The distraction will continue.”

Know the law

Fines for operating a motor vehicle while using a mobile communication device range from $110 to $250, according to Bend Police Lt. Chris Carney.

Law enforcement officers can pull over and cite drivers for the offense alone.

The law does have exceptions. A mobile device user is exempt if he or she is:

• Summoning medical or emergency help if no other people are in the car

• Using a mobile communication device for farming or agricultural operations

• Operating an ambulance or emergency vehicle

• 18 or older and using a hands-free device

• A volunteer or paid employee driving for public safety

• Employed in a job that requires driving

• Activating or deactivating the phone or a function of the phone

• A licensed amateur radio operator using an amateur radio

• Operating a two-way radio device transmitted to an authorized frequency

The Legislature agreed this year to increase the fine for unauthorized cellphone use to $500; the governor has yet to sign it into law.