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Survey shows drivers know about Georgia's hands-free law, but some are not following it

According to a recent AAA survey, 98 percent of drivers know about the Georgia hands-free law.

ATLANTA -- It's been almost two months since the Georgia hands-free law has been in effect, but some drivers are still not following it.

According to a recent AAA survey, 98 percent of drivers know about the law that bans them from using a handheld phone behind the wheel. However, that's not stopping them from breaking the law.

The survey said within the past month, 43 percent of drivers "regularly" see people holding or talking on the phone while driving, with another 32 percent reporting that they see it happening "fairly often."

When it comes to texting and driving, 60 percent say they've seen doing it behind the wheel within the past month "regularly" or "fairly often."

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Ninety-five percent of the people surveyed actually favor having a law against sending messages while driving.

11Alive asked Georgia State Patrol about the citations they've issued related to the hands-free law. The numbers they provided are from July 1 - when the law first went into effect - up until August 20.

More than 1,000 people were issued citations for holding or supporting electronic devices behind the wheel statewide. About 100 citations issued for sending or reading texts.

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One of the shocking numbers show that people are actually watching videos or movies while driving. Authorities issued 17 citations for that.

When 11Alive went to the intersection of Piedmont Road and Sidney Marcus Boulevard Tuesday, we saw four people holding the phone while driving, talking to someone. Several people were also spotted at the stoplight picking up their cellphones, which is also against the law.

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