We were supposed to put down our cell phones and stop text messaging while driving.

Since restrictions on motorists using cell phones took effect a year ago, some of us have done the legal thing. Others, not so much.

In the “hands-free” law’s first year on the books, Washington State Patrol troopers contacted 4,939 drivers who were driving with cell phones to their ears, the agency reported this week. Of those, 1,659 drove off with a $124 ticket.

Troopers contacted 577 drivers for sending text messages on their phones while driving. Of those, 221 received $124 tickets. Numbers for local law enforcement agencies were not available Wednesday.

The number of collisions where a driver using a cell phone was a contributing factor apparently has dropped in the past year.

In 2008, the State Patrol noted 827 crashes where a trooper noted “driver operating handheld telecommunication device” contributed to a wreck. That’s down from 1,118 in 2007 and 1,246 in 2006.

Nevertheless, it’s still common to find drivers talking with cell phones to their ears. And that’s just as dangerous as it ever was, troopers say.

“When you are driving, you should be driving,” State Patrol Sgt. Freddy Williams said Wednesday. “Talking on a cell phone or any other internal or external distraction slows down your perception and reaction time, which can make the difference between avoiding a collision or being involved in a collision.”

Under the law, drivers talking on cell phones must use a hands-free device or face a fine if caught. Another law prohibits drivers from text messaging while driving.

The offenses are secondary violations in Washington, which means an officer must have spotted another traffic violation (speeding, busted taillight, expired tabs, etc.) before stopping a vehicle. The hands-free law took effect July 1, 2008; the text-message law on Jan. 1, 2008.

Some News Tribune readers commented Wednesday that the laws have no teeth and is not being followed.

“After an initial decline, I’m seeing more and more people talking on their cell phones again,” one reader wrote on the Lights & Sirens blog. “The other week, I was nearly hit by a woman in a convertible who ran a red light. She was happily chatting on her phone and glared at me when I honked my horn at her.”

Another reader wants to see more enforcement. “The scofflaws are far more dangerous than those going a few miles per hour over the speed limit,” Terry Shaub of Bothell wrote on the Lights & Sirens blog. “A hands-free device is around $30. There really is no excuse for not following this law.”

State Sen. Dan Swecker (R-Rochester) was a co-sponsor of the hands-free legislation. He said Wednesday he’s noticed more people walking around wearing ear pieces for their cell phones. “My goal was to create an incentive for people to do the right thing,” Swecker said. “Where we are at is a good place and I hope we continue to improve compliance.”

State Sen. Tracey Eide (D-Federal Way) was the primary sponsor of the bill. Eide was unavailable Wednesday but a staff member said she was evaluating whether to propose making the hands-free law a primary violation. If so, police could stop a driver solely for talking on a cell phone.

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268

stacey.mulick@thenewstribune.com

blogs.thenewstribune.com/crime

by the numbers

Statistics on cell phone law enforcement by state patrol.

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