Washington is poised to make driving while talking on hand-held cell phones illegal.
New Jersey has already been down this road.
The cell-phone ban for Washington will start Tuesday and will be similar to a New Jersey law that went into effect in 2003.
Washington’s law makes it a secondary offense. That means police must find a driver committing another violation such as speeding before stopping drivers for holding a cell phone up to their ear.
New Jersey’s law also began as a secondary offense.
State officials there found the law toothless and difficult to enforce, said William Cicchetti, president of the New Jersey Police Traffic Officers’ Association.
“It didn’t make any impact at all,” Cicchetti said.
Each month, New Jersey troopers and police issued about 1,500 tickets. This year, New Jersey stiffened its law, making it a primary offense, or one where they can pull over drivers solely for talking on a cell phone. And the change was immediate.
Since March, police are issuing an average of 11,600 tickets per month in New Jersey, a state of about 8.7 million people. New Jersey officials say it will take more time to find out whether law makes their highways and roads safer. Still, the law needed to be expanded to make drivers obey it.
“You’ve got to put some teeth in it if you want people to take it serious,” said Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey division of Highway Traffic Safety.
On Tuesday, Washington and California will join New Jersey, Connecticut and New York as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands in banning driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone. Some states including Illinois allow local jurisdictions to create their own rules on cell phones.
Of the places with a statewide ban, only Washington state makes it a secondary offense, said Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents highway safety offices nationwide.
In Washington, drivers face a $124 ticket for violating the ban. They can still use hands-free devices such as earpieces, wireless headsets and speakers. By comparison, California’s fines are much lower at $20 for the first violation and $50 for subsequent violations. While adult drivers can talk on a hands-free device, drivers under 18 can’t use a cell phone whether it’s hand-held or hands-free.
There are no age restrictions in Washington.
It took eight years to pass a cell-phone law in Washington state, said Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, who is in charge of the House Transportation Committee. The law as a secondary offense is a good way to start.
“You don’t want to rush out and become a nanny state,” Clibborn said. “That’s always a concern that comes up when you try to regulate people’s behavior.”
The measure will get drivers’ attention because they could face a hefty ticket, Clibborn said. She added that another law banning drivers from text-messaging took effect in January.
People should judge the effectiveness of the cell-phone law based on its effect on safety, not on the number of tickets issued for violators, Clibborn said.
“I don’t think we will see a big push toward a primary offense until we have some documentation,” she said.
Lawmakers debated last year on adding a strict provision for young or beginning drivers, Clibborn said. That could be discussed in the future again.
Meanwhile, New Jersey already bans teen drivers from talking on a cell phone, including using a hands-free device, Fischer said.
“They are so inexperienced,” she said. “They are so easily distracted.”
As law enforcement officers ticket drivers fiddling with cell phones, people have complained, she said.
The number of fatal collisions seems to have declined over the last few months statewide, but it’s hard to know whether it’s due to the rigorous crackdown on cell phones, Fischer said. That high gas prices are putting drivers off the road may have played a role.
“It’s a combination of things, but driver behavior is a key,” she said.
Drivers should focus on driving, not talking on a phone, Fischer said.
“Hang up and drive,” she said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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