Laws that ban drivers from sending text messages don’t actually stop drivers from texting, according to a recent national study.

For anyone observing traffic at the intersection of Sixth Street and Kasold Drive, the study wouldn’t have been much of a news flash.

On a busy evening last week, many drivers deemed the intersection just the right spot to check their phones. Waiting for the light to change, one after another would glance down at a cell phone and then back up at the light. As the light turned green and traffic moved forward, drivers — sometimes two or three in a row — would pass by with their eyes still on their phones and not the road.

This spring, the Kansas Legislature passed a ban on texting while driving. Law enforcement officers won’t officially start ticketing until Jan. 1. Until then, they have been tasked with issuing warnings.

Both the Kansas Highway Patrol and Lawrence Police Department have issued warnings to motorists for texting while driving. Neither agency has kept track of how many warnings have been handed out so far.

Lawrence Police Sgt. Matt Sarna said if officers see an infraction, they will initiate a car stop. Officers will have difficulty determining whether the person was actually texting or dialing, he said. But he noted, officers will do the best they can.

“If nothing else, the law will stand as a reminder to motorists that using any sort of communication device while driving can serve as a distraction,” Sarna noted in an e-mail.

Lt. Robert Baker with the Kansas Highway Patrol said it’s far too early to judge the effectiveness of the texting ban in Kansas. But, he hasn’t had trouble spotting those who are breaking the law.

“Are we going to catch everybody texting? Well, we don’t catch everyone speeding either, but the ones we see we take care of,” Baker said.

A new study questions just how much good the new state law will do. The Highway Loss Data Institute, a research group funded by the insurance industry, found that there were no reductions in crashes after texting bans went into effect in four states. In three of those states, crashes actually rose.

“It’s an indication that texting bans might even increase the risk of texting for drivers who continue to do so despite the laws,” the institute’s president, Adrian Lund, noted in a press release.

Jim Hanni, executive vice president of public affairs at Kansas AAA, said it’s too soon to judge the effectiveness of texting bans.

“Really they have only looked at a few states and it is very, very early,” Hanni said. “Just look at what happened with seat belt laws over time.”

Getting motorists to put down their phones and focus on the road will take the same kind of education campaign as convincing drivers to wear seat belts and not drive while drunk, said Kimberly Qualls, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Transportation.

KDOT is working on a promotional campaign about the texting law.

“In our society, it is not going to take a year. It takes repetition to get people to understand how important it is,” Qualls said.

On her daily commute across Topeka, Qualls said she has developed an eye for spotting people who text and drive.

“Typically it’s a lot slower and they aren’t anticipating their next movement,” Qualls said.

And, she’s not afraid to vent her frustrations about them on Twitter.

“Dear Driver: I followed U 2day as U texted while driving & it was frightful. What’s more important than life? It’s not a txt message,” one of her tweets read last week.