Motorists accustomed to talking on cell phones while driving have until July 1 to hook up with a hands-free device.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann yesterday signed a bill that bans drivers from using cell phones and practically any other hand-held electronic device while operating a motor vehicle on O'ahu.

Included in the ban are digital cameras, video games, personal digital assistants and laptop computers.

The only time it will be OK to use a cell phone in your hand while driving is to make a 911 emergency call. Also exempt are two-way radios that don't require the use of hands, but only for work reasons. Motorists with an amateur radio operator license issued by the Federal Communications Commission and using a half-duplex, two-way radio will also be exempt.

Supporters of the bill called it an important safety measure. Honolulu police Maj. Thomas Nitta said the brief time a motorist takes to dial a number or answer a call while driving is as dangerous, if not more so, than the actual act of speaking on a cell phone while driving.

A motorist won't even be able to dial a number while stopped at a traffic signal when the law kicks in.

"Pull over and park," Hannemann said.

Hannemann and Councilman Gary Okino, chairman of the Transportation and Planning Committee, pointed out that six U.S. states have a ban on driving while talking on hand-held cell phones, but Hawai'i does not.

"But I think now that we've broken the ice on this, we're going to start to see statewide legislation on this," Okino said.

Violators will be subject to fines of $15 to $100.

"It's going to be a lot safer for the seniors and all the other residents to be out on the streets," said Barbara Kim Stanton, AARP Hawai'i director. "This bill will save lives."

Nitta said HPD will run a public information campaign in the weeks leading up to July 1 to inform motorists and pedestrians of the impending law change.

When the law does take effect, officers generally won't be out looking for violators but will be conducting "on-view enforcement," Nitta said.

Hannemann and representatives from three cell phone service companies said there are an ample number of hands-free devices that motorists can buy and use to stay legal.

Hannemann earlier this year vetoed a bill that barred text-messaging and playing with video games while driving, noting that police believed that bill unenforceable.

City officials said a violation of the new law won't affect a violator's insurance rates.