Can you hear me now? CHP enforces cell phone law

California Highway Patrol Officer Leon Hines just about heard it all Tuesday. Adolfo Flores in the Daily News.

There was the driver who said he was violating California law by using a handheld cell phone because he'd been out of the country for three years and wasn't aware of the ban that took effect at midnight Tuesday.

Then there was the motorist who pleaded ignorance because they were from out of state.

Others simply admitted they answered their cell phones without using a hands-free device out of sheer habit.