BIDDEFORD — Four, four-hour special police details over the course of the last month led to 76 traffic citations issued to people holding a phone to their ear while driving, and more than a dozen citations for texting.  One individual was cited for conducting a Zoom meeting while driving.

Police Chief Roger Beaupre released the results of the exercise, which began Dec. 8, on Tuesday, Jan, 10.

He said the Zoom meeting incident, which took place in the Five Points area, was a first, but that the numbers of people violating traffic laws, and particularly the hand-free law, have been surging since COVID.

“We started to get compliance (with the hands-free law) three years ago, and then came COVID,” Beaupre said. The police chief noted that when the pandemic became prevalent, police officers were directed not to conduct traffic enforcement so as not to have contact with people who may have the contagious virus. “Now, people are flaunting the hands-free law, driving down the road with a phone to their ear,” he said.

The police department put out  word to the public in early December that they were stepping up enforcement of the hands-free law and for people running red lights.

“We decided to put details together, a spotter, and a couple of marked cars, and they couldn’t keep up with the numbers,” the police chief said. The spotters — all law enforcement personnel — would see the violations, but there were not enough officers in cars to stop them all. He said the number of citations issued was low compared to the number of violations spotters observed.

In all, 76 motorists were cited for allegedly violating Maine’s hands-free law, 14 for texting, two for operating after their license was suspended, seven red light violations, and one for conducting a Zoom meeting. All were issued tickets and face fines. Beaupre said warnings were given for people driving with expired registration and inspection stickers.

He said the special details would continue to take place, “from time to time.”

Beaupre noted that the state provides grants so municipal police department can conduct special speeding details and said similar grants for policing the hands-free law would be beneficial.