Enforcement policy varies on cell phone driving ban

The state-wide ban on using cell phones while driving has been in effect a week now and local law enforcement officers are on the lookout.

Starting June 10, talking on a cell phone while driving became a primary offense for which an officer can pull over a driver. Texting was already illegal.

Washington State Patrol Sergeant Brad Hudson said troopers have already noticed a drop in the number of people they see on their phones while driving.

“Since the law became a primary law, myself and my troopers have noticed that there’s been a substantial decrease of people we are seeing out on the road talking on their cell phones,” Hudson said six days after the new law went into effect.

WSP officers will not be allowing any grace period to the new law.

“People should be fully aware of the cell phone law and therefore we’re not having a grace period,” Hudson said.

Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers said his deputies will allow one or maybe two months of grace period while drivers become aware of the change in state law.

Myers said deputies for that time will likely issue a verbal or written warning.

He added his officers aren’t specifically focusing on cell phone users right now, rather, they will continue to check the roadways for dangerous drivers. That, Myers said, is the whole reason behind passing the cell phone law anyway.

“We’re not just going to cross the board for every single instance of someone using a cell phone,” Myers said.

He added his deputies could see up to 10 people talking on a phone in a given shift. Cell phone use is a very common occurrence, he said.

WSP officer Courtney Shawley said as a trooper for the local state detachment in the county, he has seen a lot of reckless driving by people on cell phones.

“On the interstate we see a lot of people traveling between two or three lanes. The driving we see is indicative of a drunk driver,” Shawley said.

Shawley said collisions due to cell phone use occur largely in downtown areas, when people aren’t focused on the precise turns and stops in a city.

“There’s a lot of stop signs and turning,” he said.