Starting today, young drivers with an instruction permit cannot talk on cellphones, schools will be required to give parents better information on colleges, and cellphone numbers will be better protected from telemarketers as about 70 new laws go into effect.
Under one new law, drivers with permits are not allowed to use a cellphone or any other communication device while driving. The law makes using a cellphone for those drivers a secondary offense, meaning a driver can be cited only if stopped for another offense.
Alex Hovorka, 15, of Fort Collins, said he thinks the law is not going to curb young people’s use of cellphones while driving.
“I think it has good intentions, but I think it is not going to work because people are going to talk on their phones regardless,” said Hovorka, who drives with a permit. He said he rarely uses his cellphone, driving or not.
Adult driver Janice Brown of Fort Collins thinks the law will make the streets safer.
“Even adults shouldn’t be using cellphones,” she said. “Driving is a full-time job.”
Jacqi Defilippo, 15, put down her cellphone in Old Town Square in Fort Collins long enough to say the law is a good idea but might not stop her from talking or text-messaging while driving. “I like using my phone, but I know it’s dangerous,” she said. “I don’t think it will work, but it’s a good idea.”
Another law will require school boards to give parents better information to help get their kids prepared for college.
Under the law, boards must inform parents if the student is meeting the Colorado Commission on Higher Education’s precollegiate curriculum standards, and give information on financial assistance for four- year colleges and the possible financial burden if a student requires remedial education.
According to the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Jerry Frangas, D-Denver, the law was developed to help the state’s sagging high school graduation and college attendance rates.
John Defilippo said the law would do more if the information was sent to his daughter, Jacqi. He said information about financial assistance would help parents more than anything else.
The state hopes a new law that creates a film commission will make Colorado part of the competitive market in the recruitment of motion picture companies. The nonprofit commission will partner with the film school at the University of Colorado at Denver.
Another law will make it illegal for telemarketers to knowingly list a cellphone number in a directory for commercial purpose without consent. The law also prohibits the use of scanners to make telemarketing calls.
Other laws include the introduction of a license plate for Navy members, basic rights for mobile home owners and regulation of motor vehicle carriers.
Staff writer Christopher Ortiz can be reached at 303-820-1201 or cortiz@denverpost.com.
