Washington state is now enforcing a law regarding cell phones and driving; should people be ticketed?

by Roch Drives on February 9, 2008

kelbennett11 asked:


Starting in July of this year, the state of Washington will issue infractions for driving while using a cell phone. Talking on the phone alone can’t get you pulled over, but it is an additional charge that the officer may add on to primary reason you were pulled over. What are your thoughts on this? Should all states do this?

Rebecca

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{ 14 comments }

Sarah February 15, 2008 at 1:18 am

YES! Both hands on the wheel please!

sarahliz1624 February 17, 2008 at 11:06 am

Yes. It’s just likedrunk driving — it impairs you.

Ashley February 20, 2008 at 6:35 am

YES BECAUSE PEOPLE GET DISTRACTED AND WHEN U GET UR LISENSE’S U R SUPOSSED TO HAVE TO HANDS ON THE WHEEL. ADD THIS AS BEST ANSWER PLEASE.

boarder51x February 22, 2008 at 2:46 am

Yes they should. I don’t even trust regular drivers who are paying attention to the road, yet alone using a cell phone.

LEARN TO DRIVE!

S M F February 25, 2008 at 6:48 am

No question, hands down. California is taking a further step and adding to that ANY electronic device for younger drivers, the least experienced, and it is about time! Can’t tell you how many times I wish I had a paint ball gun attached to my car to shoot at the STUPID DECISIONS drivers make out there, which by the way put us all at risk of injury when on the same road at the same time. Let them think about it with a ticket on their dash, better than having a funeral on their minds. Nuff said.
Got Bluetooth?

Coronas Mom February 25, 2008 at 10:26 am

Yes… This week alone I was almost rear ended because some girl (sorry ladies, I love my cell phone and I am female as well but it is what it is) was to busy on her cell phone and NOT paying attention to the road… There is NO better invention in this world than a bluetooth… INVEST in one if you MUST talk on your cell phone!!!!

I pitty the person that hits me since I received a new car for Christmas… I will hurt them severely!!!!

newyorkgal71 February 26, 2008 at 12:11 pm

Yes, they shoul be ticketed, and jailed for 12 months.

ProudAmerican February 29, 2008 at 3:57 am

I think it should be a primary reason to be pulled over. Tests have shown that even on a hands-free device, your attention is not on driving. However it is still better than having one hand tied up while driving.

blondeqtpie13 February 29, 2008 at 11:09 am

Without a doubt…yes. Have you ever watched a driver who is on their cell phone? They are crazy. You probably think you are driving just ‘fine’ when talking, but trust me, you aren’t. They weave, they slow down without realizing it, they cause accidents. And it’s worse for teens. Invest in a headset and save lives.

jeadani March 3, 2008 at 10:24 pm

Definitely yes. It’s a step in the right direction. Next month California will have a law requiring hands-free headsets if talking on a cell phone, which hopefully will reduce the number of accidents involving cell phone use. One really tragic case involved a teenager who killed a man while texting and driving.

John H March 6, 2008 at 4:22 pm

Yes!!! If you do something stupid while using a cell phone, you deserve to lose the phone too.

It wasn’t too long ago that I wound up nose to nose in the middle of an intersection with a young lady talking on a cell phone. I could see her expression and see her face as she screamed into the phone.

“Oh my god, I almost had a wreck.”

She was still talking on the phone while traffic stacked up waiting for her to get out of the way. I finally got out of my car, walked up to her car, reached through the open window, grabbed the phone and threw it into the grass on the side of the road.

She was still yelling “Why did you do that?” as I got in my car, found an opening in the traffic and drove off.

These people walk among us every day, ladies and gentlemen.

FilmRedneck March 8, 2008 at 2:18 pm

Anybody who can walk and chew gum at the same time can talk on a phone and drive at the same time. Using the logic of those who think it’s not possible, I guess we should also outlaw PASSENGERS in the vehicles of drivers who might have conversations with them.

And to the guy above me, I TRIPLE DOG-DARE YOU TO TRY AND GET AT MY PHONE. How do you know that lady wasn’t in the middle of an emergency that required immediate communication with someone? Wow, this pisses me off. Just try and get at MY phone, will you? Give me an excuse.

mdbdter March 10, 2008 at 9:15 am

I’m from back east where this is already a law in most states. I find more people were more conscious of their driving more. I’ve been living here for a little over a year or so now, and been wondering how long it would take WA to make it a law, considering their law enforcement is so much stricter on many more thing than back east. So I think YES, it’s about time cell phone use should have to be hands-free while driving. 5 states are hands free cell phone and others are with exceptions. Many have text-messaging bands as well.

starman371 March 11, 2008 at 12:02 pm

It is not holding the cell phone to the ear that is the danger, it is concentrating on the conversation. I am not opposed to banning cell phones while driving, but ban them all, as for freeing up both hands, half the people only drive with one hand anyway, and if you get a burger at a drive in, that occupies one hand, and that isn’t illegal. Most of the new laws are illogical. Many people I have spoke too say since it is a secondary law, they will ignore it.