Hang up and drive
On July 1, the state of Washington became the latest jurisdiction to prohibit driving while using a hand-held cell phone.
It's a welcome move, if long overdue.
Washington becomes only the fifth state in the nation to pass a state law banning use of cell phones while behind the wheel, joining New York, New Jersey, California, and Connecticut. Washington, D.C., also has the ban in place.
Perhaps you've seen the bumper sticker, "Hang up and drive." That pretty well sums it up, as far as we're concerned.
There can no longer be any doubt that using a cell phone while driving sharply increases your risk of getting in an accident. It's painfully obvious that people simply get distracted while talking, and they make mistakes as a result. Mix in not having both hands free to react to an emergency, and the situation is all the worse.
A Harvard University study found that a motorist using a cell phone is four times more likely to be in an accident. Another study, by the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society, claims that 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in car wrecks per year can be traced to cell phone use. It's outrageous, and we are all at potential risk.
Besides contributing to car accidents, use of cell phones also contributes to traffic congestion. For just one example, how many of us have been at a stop light and seen the person in the car ahead chatting away? Then, when the light turns green, they continue talking -- and continue to sit there -- lost in conversation.
One study showed that a 20-year-old using a cell phone had the reaction times of a 70-year-old, thereby contributing to traffic congestion. That impacts all of us.
Yes, this law was long overdue.
The state still allows talking on a cell phone with hands-free devices. That's also a distraction to driving, but not quite as much as having one hand holding a phone and trying to steer and shift with only one free hand.
The new state law allows for a fine of as much as $124 for those caught on the phone, but there is a bit of wiggle room: The infraction is regarded as a "secondary offense." Police officers supposedly will not pull anyone over just for being on the phone; but they will increase your ticket if you are nabbed for another infraction and the officer sees that you were on the phone at the time.
That's silly, and the Washington Legislature needs to go back and tweak that part of the law. Let the officers enforce this law when they see it. If it's not being enforced directly, most people are going to figure if they get in a wreck or are caught speeding, they'll simply set the phone aside and not have to worry about the added penalty. That makes it more difficult to motivate drivers to follow this rule -- and apparently drivers need to be motivated, because right now many are clearly ignoring the new law.
"When you're driving, you need to be driving," said Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste.
Or, to put it another way: Just hang up and drive.
JB
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