You know who you are.

If you haven't figured it out already, your days of unfettered phoning are numbered.

Many residents across San Diego County are rushing to buy hands-free headsets or speakerphones as the state prepares to take on motormouthed motorists.

Starting July 1, drivers must use a hands-free device while talking on a cell phone or risk getting a minimum $97 fine.

Motorists younger than 18 will be prohibited from using cell phones entirely, hands-free or otherwise, along with pagers, laptops and text-messaging devices.

“We are confident these new laws will go a long way in reducing traffic accidents and the injuries they cause,” said Capt. Cary McGagin, California Highway Patrol commander in the San Diego area.

College Area resident Martina Wooten is among those who welcome the restrictions. She bought a Bluetooth headset at Costco in Mission Valley last week.

OVERVIEW Background: California lawmakers approved laws in 2006 and 2007 aimed at reducing distractions while driving, placing the toughest restrictions on young drivers. What's changing: Starting July 1, adult drivers must use hands-free headsets or speakerphones while talking; motorists younger than 18 can't use cell phones, pagers, laptops or text-messaging devices of any kind. Penalties: In San Diego County, at least $97 for a first offense; a minimum of $211 for each subsequent offense. The future: State officials are considering a law that would extend the text-messaging ban to adults.

“I'm constantly annoyed to see people talking into their phones and not paying attention to the road,” Wooten said.

Approved by state legislators in 2006, the hands-free phone law requires drivers 18 and older to use a wired or wireless headset or speakerphones while talking. The restriction on younger drivers was approved in 2007.

According to a spokeswoman for the San Diego County Superior Court, those caught breaking the new laws in the region will be fined at least $97 for the first offense, once court costs are added to the base fine, and a minimum of $211 for each additional offense.

The San Diego Police Department plans to give drivers a 30-day grace period starting July 1. Several other agencies, including the CHP, are preparing to issue tickets from Day One.

Law enforcement authorities note that Californians have had about two years to gear up for the hands-free requirement.

Adult drivers can still dial a phone number by hand, but all talking must be via headset or speaker. Under both new laws, handheld emergency calls can still be made to police, fire or medical authorities.

Patrol officers will be allowed to stop motorists just on a phone violation.

McGagin said many drivers know what it's like to juggle a cell phone in one hand while gripping the steering wheel with the other. He called it a dicey form of multitasking best addressed by not using a phone at all.

HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune Lin and Mark Manning (center and right) are skeptical about the need for California's new laws to limit drivers' cell phone use, but they talked about hands-free devices with sales representative Sam Cruz at the Mission Valley Costco this week.

He said the hands-free requirement will make it easier to stay focused on the road.

Others voiced skepticism about the laws.

Lin Manning of Point Loma, a retired San Diego County Sheriff's Department sergeant, said she believes the new rules are more about raising money than improving public safety.

Scouting headsets at Costco, she said the hands-free law not only benefits the phone industry but will help state and local agencies drum up more dollars through fines.

“I think it's strictly about revenue enhancement,” Manning said.

Her husband, Mark Manning, concurred. “It's really kind of a scam,” he said.

McGagin disagreed. “I see it purely as a safety enhancement,” he said.

HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune For drivers who want to continue to use their cell phones on the road, there is research to be done about the various hands-free devices on the market. Dawne Forderer of University Heights took a look at what was available during a stop at the Mission Valley Costco on Thursday.

According to data compiled by the CHP, nearly 1,100 traffic accidents on California highways last year involved drivers distracted by cell phones. About 450 people were injured in the accidents.

A recent study conducted by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California estimates the hands-free law will save 300 lives a year. The state logged about 4,000 traffic fatalities in 2007.

Researchers at the think tank, drawing on traffic data from other states, expect most of the decrease in deaths to occur only when road or weather conditions are poor.

The hands-free requirement is already the law in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the District of Columbia, along with several cities including Chicago.

Several studies in recent years have cast doubt on the effectiveness of these laws. Many say the issue is not whether drivers use hands-free devices.

“It's the conversation itself that's the problem,” said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Rader said the institute, a nonprofit funded by the insurance industry, favors a complete ban on cell calls by drivers. He acknowledged it would be tough to enforce, and enforcement is key, Rader said.

The institute recently studied a ban on teen cell phone usage in North Carolina, a prohibition similar to the one coming to California on July 1. The conclusion: Most teen drivers in North Carolina ignored it and continued to make calls.

“If the parents don't police it and the police don't visibly enforce it, it's unlikely to have much effect,” Rader said.

Some San Diego teenagers agreed. “I doubt a lot of people will pay much attention to it, except maybe at first,” said 17-year-old Vanessa Brown of Mira Mesa.

Authorities point out that younger, less experienced drivers tend to take greater risks and are to blame for a disproportionate share of traffic accidents.

Law enforcement officials urge parents to talk to their teen drivers about the ban to make sure they know it includes texting devices.

“I told my daughters, 'I'll get you the car. I'll get you the cell phone. But if I see you one time using both at the same time – both of them are gone. The car will be gone for a long time, and the phone will be gone for a long time, and you go to school with the bus,' ” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said last year as he signed the measure into law.

Odd as it may seem, older motorists can continue to text while driving, but that may end soon, as well. Legislation was proposed late last week in Sacramento that would extend the hands-free law for adults to include text messaging.

Some believe the laws are unnecessary because motorists can already be cited for reckless driving.

Many San Diego motorists say phones and texting devices aren't the only problems, noting they've spotted drivers applying makeup or reading on the freeway.

For all the guilty parties out there, McGagin has this message: “Anything that distracts from keeping your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel, put it aside.”

Staff writer Pauline Repard contributed to this report.