Like Austin and San Antonio before it, Buda is prohibiting drivers and cyclists from using their cell phones or other handheld devices on the road.

Buda City Council passed the so-called hands-free ordinance 6-0 July 7 on second reading. Council Member George Haehn was absent.

Police Chief Bo Kidd said the city’s police force will not begin enforcing the ban for at least another two months.

“Obviously other cities are recognizing the need of those ordinances,” Kidd said. “Use of those devices and driving is causing accidents. I think it’s a good thing, and the approach the city has taken is one of first education. So hopefully we get the word out and in doing so avoid some accidents and people getting hurt.”

Use of handheld devices is permitted as long as the device is not being touched by the driver, so hands-free technology, such as Bluetooth, is allowed under the new law.

Drivers will also not face a fine if their vehicles are at a complete stop when a handheld device is used.

A Class C misdemeanor, the crime is punishable by a fine of $500 or less.

Kidd said the city will begin posting signs and notices in the newspaper to alert citizens to the new law.

“We will hit every mechanism we can to notify the public,” he said. “The goal is not to cite people; the goal is compliance. We’ll do everything we can to educate.”

Buda City Council, in particular Council Member Wiley Hopkins, brought up discussion of a possible hands-free ordinance at a meeting in April. City staff then began to study the issue and drafted an ordinance, which was approved on first reading June 16, with Haehn the only council member to vote against it.

“I just think it’s ridiculous to sit here and just keep regulating the people,” Haehn said at the meeting in June. “At certain points in time people have to be held accountable for their own actions.”

Mayor Todd Ruge said the ordinance could help save lives.

“I don’t want that time to come when it’s my loved one on the other end [of a distracted driving accident],” Ruge said. “I think this is a proactive measure. It seems to be working well in Austin.”

Such a measure is especially important to have in place in a commuter city such as Buda, Hopkins said.

“The amount of traffic we have coming through here, it’s not going to do anything but get busier,” he said. “I think it’s a very significant safety initiative.”