Washington drivers caught fiddling with their phones while behind the wheel of a vehicle will no longer get off with a warning.
Gov. Jay Inslee signed Washington’s new distracted driving law six months ago. Tuesday marked the end of a grace period for the state’s drivers caught using electronic devices while commuting.
Washington State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies statewide will start issuing $136 tickets for people who violate the distracted driving law dubbed Driving Under the Influence of Electronics, or E-DUI Act, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
The first E-DUI ticket will cost drivers $136. If the driver gets a second ticket within five years, the fine increases to $234. All information on those violations is available to insurance companies.
Since the law took effect July 23, State Patrol officers issued nearly 6,500 distracted driving warnings.
State Patrol Trooper Will Finn said the distracted driving law is now more robust — it has “more teeth” with the threat of increasing fines.
Finn said troopers in Clark County used the six-month grace period to educate the public about the coming changes. When the new law was receiving a lot of attention, compliance increased. However, time passed and people reverted to old habits, he said.
“We’re curious about whether this creates change,” Finn said. “Troopers are trying to stop serious collisions out on the roadways due to dangerous behavior. People should be focused on driving and the roadway, not whether you’ve got a text message coming in or how to work a GPS.”
The law prohibits drivers from using handheld cellphones or watching videos while they are driving, stopped in traffic or at a stoplight. The banned electronics include tablets, laptops, and gaming devices, among other items.
Use of a hands-free device is allowed but limited to single-touch actions, like connecting to an incoming call.
Exemptions under the law include using an electronic device to contact emergency services, or operating the radio dial or a two-way or citizens band radio services.
Another section of the law says a person who engages in “any activity not related to the actual operation of a motor vehicle” is subject to pay an additional fine of $100. That stipulation applies if a driver is caught being distracted while committing a standard traffic offense.
“The rules have changed a bit. Everyone needs to understand the information coming out now, the troopers are being serious. We now have more authority to pull people over,” Finn said.
Texting or holding a phone to your ear was already against the law for drivers in Washington when the E-DUI Act passed. Inslee vetoed a section that had the measure taking effect in 2019, saying it was too important to wait for the changes.
The measure was championed by Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center.
