Don't drive and chat

The new cell phone laws are being enforced. In the past, talking or texting on your cell phone was only a secondary offense. Now, it will be a primary offense that can get you pulled over and ticketed if not using a hands-free device. The violation has an associated infraction of $124.

In other words, if a driver was talking on a cell phone and failed to stop at a stop sign, then an officer would pull the driver over for failing to yield. A second citation for talking on a cell phone would also be written. Now you can be ticketed for talking directly into your phone.

"That is why as long as you were obeying all the other rules of the roadway and talking on your wireless device you would never be stopped; even when you passed a police officer who looked right at you while you were talking on your cell phone. That changes June 10." Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said.

So what does this mean for law enforcement? Can they still access their phones while driving?

 "By law we are exempt from the regulations the general public is confined to. I have put a policy in place for the Sheriff's Office that guides the use of wireless devices while still allowing my employees access to utilize the device in a safe and effective manner for the job that they are expected to do," Mansfield said. "Members are expected whenever possible to utilize the device in "hands free mode" or use a separate speaker device provided by the office. The intent of my policy is to allow members under both normal and emergency situations a practical, effective and safe means to utilize the technology."

"In short, under normal operating conditions my employees are expected to comply with the same laws as the general public. Under emergency or other unusual work conditions, a modified use of the device may be necessary to meet our mission and the member may do so as necessary," he added.

According to Washington Department of Licensing, drivers talking on cell phones are half a second slower to hit the brakes in emergencies and miss more than half the visual cues seen by attentive drivers. A driver who is texting is as impaired as a driver with a .16 blood-alcohol level. That's double the legal limit.
Help save lives and prevent accidents by being responsible and obeying the law. A text message or phone call is not worth a life or a ticket. For more information about the new law, visit www.leg.wa.gov.