The Washington State Patrol issued 667 citations to drivers for cell phone or texting violations between June 10 and July 1.
The number grew by at least one a day later when State Patrol Chief John Batiste cited a driver near Joint Base Lewis McChord in Tacoma.
“The fellow was just driving along talking on his phone,” Batiste said in a July 2 State Patrol media release. “He was fully aware of the law and had no excuses.”
Batiste believes compliance has increased since the violation became a primary offense, and that’s making things easier for troopers.
“Those who continue to flout the law are now much easier to spot,” Batiste said.
On June 10, the state’s previous law on cell phones and texting moved from secondary to primary. That means officers no longer need some other reason to stop a driver they see texting or holding a cell phone to their ear.
Drivers must pay a $124 fine but the ticket does not go on their record.
One unique aspect of this law is that the State Patrol did not give a formal grace period, as it typically does with new laws. Because the basic behavior has already been illegal for two years, troopers were told to enforce the new law in exactly the same way as every other violation.
Troopers always have discretion to issue warnings and many did. Along with the 667 citations, nearly 500 warnings were issued. That is consistent with the ratio of warnings to citations given for other traffic violations.
During the same period in 2009, only about 110 cell phone and texting citations were issued by WSP. Between 2006 and 2008 in Washington more than 3,000 drivers were involved in collisions while using hand-held wireless devices.
Troopers between June 10 and July 1 issued 633 citations statewide to drivers for holding a cell phone to their ear and 34 citations for texting while driving. They also gave out 432 warnings for cell phone use and 39 for texting.
In King County, troopers issued 129 citations for cell phone use and 13 for texting. They gave out 83 warnings for using a cell phone and 10 for texting.
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