Robert Rohloff
EF3
This is how it starts, I can see this moving into the chase states. This starts Sunday in Washington State so be aware.
NWNEWSNETWORK:
Texting or holding a phone to your ear while driving is already illegal in Washington state. But starting Sunday, Washington state troopers and local police will begin enforcing a toughened law against distracted driving.
This spring, the legislature expanded the distracted driving law to forbid handling a phone behind the wheel for any reason, even when stopped in traffic or at a red light.
Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said you can also get a ticket for eating, sipping coffee, starting a video or grooming if a trooper sees you driving badly as a consequence.
The citation for being "dangerously distracted" by something other than an electronic device could only be enforced as a secondary offense, meaning another infraction such as an improper lane change would need to be observed to pull you over.
"It's a hands-free situation,” Batiste said. “Before you get in your vehicle, if you’re going to use GPS, get that started before you turn the key. If you're going to listen to music, get that all programmed and started before you head off down the roadways."
Using voice commands to make a phone call or get directions while the phone is in a cradle or connected to your car via Bluetooth is still allowed. Hands-free devices must not take more than "minimal" finger touches to activate or deactivate.
Using a CB radio is OK. Picking up the phone to call 911 in an emergency is a permissible exception.
Batiste said troopers are likely to give more lectures than tickets during the initial three to six months under the toughened law.
"Our first effort is to educate folks as we typically do with new laws," Batiste told reporters in Olympia Monday. "We go on a heavy emphasis of educating folks. So we'll give out a lot of warnings."
Another change from current law highlighted at a photo op and media event in Olympia Monday was that cell phone violations will be reportable to auto insurance companies from now on. Previously, cell phone tickets were exempted from disclosure to your insurance company.
A first ticket for driving under the influence of electronics—or E-DUI—will cost you at least $136. A second violation within five years will cost at least $236.
The stiffer consequences were welcomed by Tina Meyer of Arlington, who tearfully recounted how her 23-year-old son Cody was run down by a distracted driver in 2015 while he was working as a flagger in a construction zone near Issaquah. Cody eventually died from his injuries.
"By making this change in the law, it is going to save a lot of lives," Meyer said
port - 1 - SSB 5289 Summary: Beginning July 23, 2017, a person who uses a personal electronic device while driving a motor vehicle on a public highway is guilty of a traffic infraction. The first violation of the infraction carries a base penalty of $48 and a total penalty of $136. Second and subsequent violations of this infraction double the base penalty to $96, resulting in a total penalty of approximately $235. Uses means: holding a personal electronic device in either hand; using your hand or finger to compose, send, read, view, access, browse, transmit, save, or retrieve email, text messages, instant messages, photographs, or other electronic data; and watching video on a personal electronic device. However, the minimal use of a finger to activate, deactivate, or initiate a function of a device is not precluded. A personal electronic device means any portable electronic device that is capable of wireless communication or electronic data retrieval, but does not include two-way radio, citizen band radio, or amateur radio equipment. Driving means operating a motor vehicle on a public highway, and includes when the vehicle is temporarily stopped because of traffic or a stop light or stop sign. Driving does not include when the vehicle has pulled over and stopped on the side of an active roadway and can remain stationary safely. The following actions are exempted from the infraction: a driver who is summoning emergency services; a driver operating an authorized emergency vehicle; a transit system employee using a system for time-sensitive relay communication with transit dispatch services; and a commercial motor vehicle driver who uses a device within the scope of an individual's employment as allowed by federal law. The state law related to drivers using a personal electronic device supersedes any local laws regulating the use of wireless devices in motor vehicles. The existing statutes related to cell phone and texting infractions and the applicable exemptions covering to drivers over 18 years of age are repealed as of July 23, 2017. It is a traffic infraction to drive dangerously distracted. Dangerously distracted means a person who engages in any activity not related to the actual operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that interferes with the safe operation of such motor vehicle on any highway. The new infraction may only be enforced as a secondary action when the driver has been detained for a suspected violation of a separate traffic infraction. The base penalty for the infraction is $30, with a total penalty of approximately $100. The $30 base penalty must be deposited into the Distracted Driving Prevention account and may only be appropriated for programs dedicated to reducing distracted driving and improving driver education on distracted driving.
NWNEWSNETWORK:
Texting or holding a phone to your ear while driving is already illegal in Washington state. But starting Sunday, Washington state troopers and local police will begin enforcing a toughened law against distracted driving.
This spring, the legislature expanded the distracted driving law to forbid handling a phone behind the wheel for any reason, even when stopped in traffic or at a red light.
Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said you can also get a ticket for eating, sipping coffee, starting a video or grooming if a trooper sees you driving badly as a consequence.
The citation for being "dangerously distracted" by something other than an electronic device could only be enforced as a secondary offense, meaning another infraction such as an improper lane change would need to be observed to pull you over.
"It's a hands-free situation,” Batiste said. “Before you get in your vehicle, if you’re going to use GPS, get that started before you turn the key. If you're going to listen to music, get that all programmed and started before you head off down the roadways."
Using voice commands to make a phone call or get directions while the phone is in a cradle or connected to your car via Bluetooth is still allowed. Hands-free devices must not take more than "minimal" finger touches to activate or deactivate.
Using a CB radio is OK. Picking up the phone to call 911 in an emergency is a permissible exception.
Batiste said troopers are likely to give more lectures than tickets during the initial three to six months under the toughened law.
"Our first effort is to educate folks as we typically do with new laws," Batiste told reporters in Olympia Monday. "We go on a heavy emphasis of educating folks. So we'll give out a lot of warnings."
Another change from current law highlighted at a photo op and media event in Olympia Monday was that cell phone violations will be reportable to auto insurance companies from now on. Previously, cell phone tickets were exempted from disclosure to your insurance company.
A first ticket for driving under the influence of electronics—or E-DUI—will cost you at least $136. A second violation within five years will cost at least $236.
The stiffer consequences were welcomed by Tina Meyer of Arlington, who tearfully recounted how her 23-year-old son Cody was run down by a distracted driver in 2015 while he was working as a flagger in a construction zone near Issaquah. Cody eventually died from his injuries.
"By making this change in the law, it is going to save a lot of lives," Meyer said
port - 1 - SSB 5289 Summary: Beginning July 23, 2017, a person who uses a personal electronic device while driving a motor vehicle on a public highway is guilty of a traffic infraction. The first violation of the infraction carries a base penalty of $48 and a total penalty of $136. Second and subsequent violations of this infraction double the base penalty to $96, resulting in a total penalty of approximately $235. Uses means: holding a personal electronic device in either hand; using your hand or finger to compose, send, read, view, access, browse, transmit, save, or retrieve email, text messages, instant messages, photographs, or other electronic data; and watching video on a personal electronic device. However, the minimal use of a finger to activate, deactivate, or initiate a function of a device is not precluded. A personal electronic device means any portable electronic device that is capable of wireless communication or electronic data retrieval, but does not include two-way radio, citizen band radio, or amateur radio equipment. Driving means operating a motor vehicle on a public highway, and includes when the vehicle is temporarily stopped because of traffic or a stop light or stop sign. Driving does not include when the vehicle has pulled over and stopped on the side of an active roadway and can remain stationary safely. The following actions are exempted from the infraction: a driver who is summoning emergency services; a driver operating an authorized emergency vehicle; a transit system employee using a system for time-sensitive relay communication with transit dispatch services; and a commercial motor vehicle driver who uses a device within the scope of an individual's employment as allowed by federal law. The state law related to drivers using a personal electronic device supersedes any local laws regulating the use of wireless devices in motor vehicles. The existing statutes related to cell phone and texting infractions and the applicable exemptions covering to drivers over 18 years of age are repealed as of July 23, 2017. It is a traffic infraction to drive dangerously distracted. Dangerously distracted means a person who engages in any activity not related to the actual operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that interferes with the safe operation of such motor vehicle on any highway. The new infraction may only be enforced as a secondary action when the driver has been detained for a suspected violation of a separate traffic infraction. The base penalty for the infraction is $30, with a total penalty of approximately $100. The $30 base penalty must be deposited into the Distracted Driving Prevention account and may only be appropriated for programs dedicated to reducing distracted driving and improving driver education on distracted driving.
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