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Last updated 2:52AM ET
May 26, 2012
KPLU Local News
KPLU Local News
Tougher Cell Phone Driving Law Proposed
Liam Moriarty (2010-01-06)
State Senator Tracey Eide (D-Federal Way)says her bill to toughen restrictions on cell phone use while driving will make the highways safer. Liam Moriarty/KPLU
SEATTLE (KPLU) - It's against the law in Washington to talk on a hand-held cell phone or send a text message while you're driving. But you can't get a ticket for it unless police first top you for another violation, say, speeding. That's a loophole some state lawmakers and traffic safety advocates hope to close.

Today, on the way to an event to unveil her new bill, State Senator Tracey Eide says she was stuck behind a trucker who was driving erratically. When she finally got around him, she says, he was chatting away on his cell phone.

"And he wasn't even looking," she says. "He didn't look left, he didn't look straight. He was just completely in his zone."

It's that kind of distracted driving the Democrat from Federal Way wants to target with her bill to make calling or texting while driving a primary offense. That means if police see you with a cell phone in your hand, they can pull you over and ticket you without needing another offense to justify the stop.

State Patrol Captain Steve Burns says the current law lacks teeth.

"People are still talking on their cell phones," he says. "They're still distracted. They're still getting in accidents because they're talking on their cell phones."

Senator Eide says she's optimistic the research that shows drivers distracted by cell phones are as impaired drunk drivers will help build support for her bill when the Legislature convenes next week.

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