Picture from smartsign.com
Starting today in Washington State, a new bill will go into effect concerning distracted driving. While texting while driving was already illegal while driving this new law makes it illegal to hold your phone at all or read/look at text messages or pictures while behind the wheel. For those of you who say that you only look at your phone when at a stop light, that is no longer a valid excuse. The law specifically says that this too is a ticketable offense.
One thing that makes gives this bill more of a bite is that the offenses mentioned above are considered to be primary offenses. That means a police officer can pull you over and give you a ticket for these offenses alone.
Another thing that is tacked on to this bill that many people may not be aware of is that cell phone use is not the only thing being looked at in this bill. Any action that is considered not part of normal operations of a motorized vehicle is now a ticketable offense. This includes eating, drinking, any type of grooming, or other possibe distracting behavior when behind the wheel. Unlike the part about cell phone use, these other forms of distraction can only be enforced if you are caught doing them while commiting a separate driving offense.
Things that you can do under this law is use your phone in a completely hands-free fashion, use your phones for music/gps as long as you set it up before hitting the road or pull over to the side of the road before operating. Another exception to this law is in cases of emergencies where you are allowed to call 911.
If you get caught operating an electric device while driving (with the exception of quick taps/or swipes) you will get fined $136. For a second offense situations the fine increases to $234.
For those of you who live next door in Oregon State your time is coming as well. Your state congress is working on a very similar bill, however the fines will be higher, as in between $1,000 and $2,000.
As of today, July 23, 2017, this new law goes into effect in Washington State. So, becareful my friends and stay off of your phones when behind the wheel.
