ERIE — Erie City Council has tweaked the city's new hand-held cell phone ban by increasing fines for drivers who cause crashes while using their phones.

Phone-using drivers who cause crashes will be fined $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for each offense thereafter. Before Wednesday's amendment, the fines were $150 and $300 whether or not the phone use contributed to a crash.

Council has tweaked the law several times since it went into effect Jan. 5. Among other things, council inserted specific language making cell-phone use a secondary offense. That means drivers can only be cited for cell-phone use if they're stopped for another offense.