texting and driving will grant you a nice ticket as of today.

Under a new law that takes effect today, drivers who read and compose text messages could face a $124 ticket. If texting while driving leads to a car accident, the ticket could increase to $175.

"Any distraction is a bad distraction, but texting in particular," said Bob Calkins, a spokesman for the State Patrol. "Nobody is that good a driver that they can have their eyes down looking at a PDA [personal digital assistant] and not looking at the road."

The texting law is one of nearly 20 that take effect today. Most of the more than 500 measures passed by the 2007 Legislature took effect in July.

The law makes texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning drivers can receive a ticket only if they are pulled over for a primary offense such as speeding or running a red light.

A ticket will not become part of a driver's record, and dialing a phone is not considered text messaging. The measure exempts transit and emergency-vehicle personnel, as well as anyone who is text-messaging to report illegal activity or summon emergency help.

A companion measure that will require drivers to use a hands-free headset if they want to talk on a cellphone takes effect July 1.

 

thanks for the reminder.. i think this is just another way for the state to make money...

and i give it only a short amount of time before it is a main offense to where officers can pull you over for texting or reading while driving.

 

how in the hell are they going to know you were texting?

 

^

I agree, i'm guessing they are just going to site people as they feel fit without proof of any sort & that it you will be required to prove in court that you were not texting at that moment in time

here is a link to the RCW

http://search.leg.wa.gov/pub/textsea...=101175756&p=1

 

I love this law. I've been nearly sideswiped enough times by those idiots that are texting at 70mph.

 

its a secondary offense like talking on a cell w/out a hands free
they have to stop you for something else and then it can be added on

 

if needed i'm sure they will get a warrent or whatever to check the phone records and if you sent/recieved a text close enough to the time window on your ticket then.... thats it...

 

i cant wait till they site people for having their german shepard in their lap while trying to drive thats the one that gets me !(sorry pet lovers)

but yea!

this is just for the state of washington now right??
orygun hasnt passed anything like this yet have they?

 

i think its a good thing because i know alot of people that text and drive and its really dangerous, hell i do it from time to time but mainly on the highway, people are still going to do it so idk it might stop some people from texting but not many

 

It is up to the person who gets the ticket to prove they were not texting not many phone companies track text messaging so it will be almost impossible to prove you were not.

Not being able to talk on your cell phone unless you have a hands free kit takes place July 1st I believe.

Like many laws out there these laws will do nothing unless they are followed and/or enforced. I hope the WSP actually actively enforces these new laws to help make the roads a safer place for us all.

 

I was working with a marketing company here in Portland a couple months ago on a campaign called the Save6K campaign. The gist is that 6,000 teenagers DIE every year due to TEXTING WHILE DRIVING! That statistic doesn't even include teenage deaths due to alcohol/drugs, distractions, etc. It really has become an epidemic among young people.

A great analogy is that texting while driving actually lowers your reaction time to that of a 70 year old! It's true!