Washington state: Cell phone laws, legislation

Cell phone/texting news: Texting and using handheld cell phones while driving targeted with “primary enforcement” as of June 10, 2010. The Washington state House and Senate butted heads over the plan to toughen existing distracted driving laws, but the measure finally was approved and signed by the governor.

The 2008 distracted driving law has lowered the number of accidents attributed to handheld electronic devices, the State Patrol says.

Current restrictions:

• Drivers are prohibited from holding cell phones and other wireless communications devices to their ears.
• Drivers are prohibited from text messaging.

2010 legislation:
Washington State Senate Bill 6345: Would make text messaging and holding a cell phone to the ear while driving primary offenses, toughening the existing state law. Also would prohibit drivers with instruction permits or intermediate licenses from using cell phones or text messaging. Fine of $124. Companion bill to HB 2635, below. Approved by the state Senate on Feb. 5, 2010, and then by the House Transportation Committee on Feb. 24. Approved by the full House on March 3, but without the primary enforcement status for adult cell phone violations. On March 6, the Senate rejected the House’s watered-down version of the bill and sent it back to representatives. The House agreed to the Senate’s version on March 11 and the measure was signed Gov. Chris Gregoire on March 26. Latest action: Primary enforcement of the Washington state distracted driving law began June 10. (Eide)

Washington State House Bill 2635: Companion bill to SB 6345, above. Fine of $124. Heard in House Transportation Committee on Jan. 18. (Carlyle)

Washinton cell phone, texting notes:
An insurance company poll of Washington state drivers found 83 percent supported the current $124 fine for texting while driving or thought it should be higher. Only 11 percent thought the fine was too high. The poll by PEMCO reported that up to 80 percent of the state’s drivers are unaware that distracted driving tickets are not part of their driving records. “Perhaps that’s not a bad misperception, if it discourages almost half of all drivers from texting and talking,” a PEMCO spokesman said Aug. 18.

The Washington State Patrol said it issued 670 tickets to distracted drivers in the 20 days after the tougher penalties went into effect June 10, 2010. Cell phone use brought 633 tickets and texting resulted in 34. About 500 warnings also were issued in that period.

State Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, saw her bill approved by the Senate and House, but the upgrade to primary enforcement for violations of the adult cell phone ban initially was defeated in the House. Representatives reconsidered on March 11 and the plan went to the governor, who signed it March 26.

“I’ve fought for this for 10 years, and sometimes I thought this day would never come,” Eide said after the bill cleared the Legislature. “Maybe now people will pay attention to their driving instead of their conversations.”

Eide led the Senate in rejecting the House’s new version, in an unusual Saturday session on March 6.

After the Senate passed SB 6345, she said: “It’s becoming an epidemic, people are not paying attention, and it’s extremely serious.” The vote was 33-15.

Eide sponsored the state’s 2008 hands-free law for cell phone use.

In 2009, more than 1,600 tickets were written for violations of the handheld cell phone ban, the state patrol said. About 230 people received tickets for texting while driving.

Eide’s bill also would cover primary enforcement for text messaging while driving and eliminate cell phone use entirely for drivers with learners permits or intermediate licenses. has the companion bill, HB 2635.

During SB 6345 debate in the Senate Transportation Committee, a student crossing guard testified as to the dangers of his job due to adult drivers distracted by their cell phones.

“Studies show that texting drivers are as dangerous on the road as drivers with a blood-alcohol level of .16 — twice the legal limit,” Eide said in a statement. “When you consider that two-thirds of teen drivers say they text and drive, we’ve got a critical public-safety issue on our hands. We need to strengthen our laws.”

In testimony before the House Transportation committee on Jan. 18, HB 2635 sponsor Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, said: “In Washington state, 97 percent aware (driver cell-phoning and text messaging are) against the law, but it is flouted because it’s a secondary offense.” State Patrol Chief John Batiste testified in favor of the bill, likening the offenses to drunk driving.

The text-messaging ban went into effect Jan. 1, 2008. The hands-free law became effective July 1, 2008, the same day as California’s heavily publicized cell phone driving law.

The fine for using a cell phone without a hands-free device is $124, but drivers must have committed another infraction to get that ticket. (See 2010 legislation, above.)

One year after the cell phone driving law took effect, the State Patrol reported these numbers: 4,939 drivers were stopped for use of handheld cell phones and 1,659 were ticketed. The majority of stops resulted in warnings. For text messaging, the State Patrol said 577 drivers were pulled over and 221 tickets were written. The number of collisions attributed to use of handheld devices fell from 1,118 (2007) to 827.

The 2009 Legislature adjourned on April 26, 2009. No bills concerning cell phones or text messaging were considered.

Washington state drivers’ attitudes about the cell phone driving law are being tracked by the insurance company PEMCO. In February 2008, before the law went into effect, a poll of drivers found that 60 percent of them believed motorists’ use of a handheld cell phone should be a primary offense. Three months after the law took effect, 50 percent replied that should be a primary offense.

“Perhaps not surprising, younger drivers are significantly more likely than their older counterparts to prefer that the law remains a secondary offense,” the PEMCO pollsters reported. “For their part, younger drivers are also more likely to admit that they talk on the phone only if they don’t see a law enforcement person nearby (19 percent versus 4 percent).”

Texting law leader: Washington was among the first six states to outlaw text messaging while driving. As of summer 2009, 14 states have adopted texting bans for motorists.

The prohibition of using hands for cell phone use while driving was signed by the governor in May 2007.