Hands-free cell phone law started Tuesday in Washington
Yesterday, #1 son was hit on his bicycle in Moscow by a driver who was talking on his cell phone (#1 son is fine; but the bike needed to go into the shop).
Personally, I think this is great news. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had a near-accident because of people talking-and-driving.
From the Spokesman Review.
Drivers in Washington state will face a new hands-free cell phone law Tuesday that could add $124 to any other traffic infraction.
The law bans drivers from holding cell phones to their ears. But the infraction is only a secondary offense. That means drivers must be speeding, make an improper lane change or break some other rule of the road before they can be ticketed for cell phone usage.
"I'm sure there will be a leeway period," Spokane Police officer Teresa Fuller said. "There will be a couple weeks for everybody to get used to that and to get a hands-free device. But every officer will handle it a little differently. It probably just depends on how that officer thinks the cell phone played into whatever you were doing at the time."
Washington joins 26 other states and the District of Columbia in applying some form of restriction to cell phone use while driving. Some states ban cell phone use completely for certain drivers and others, like Alaska, only ban text-messaging while driving. Idaho has no cell phone restrictions.