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closeHands-free cell phone law takes effect
Nate Hulings
Holding a cell phone to your ear while behind the wheel is going to start burning a hole in your bank account.
A new statewide hands-free cell phone law took effect July 1 and requires phone-wielding drivers to use hands-free devices or risk a $124 ticket. You can still make and receive calls without fear of a ticket as long as you use a speakerphone, headset or earpiece.
Since the new law falls under a secondary action, you can’t be pulled over merely for talking on the phone. However, expect a ticket if a police officer sees you breaking a law such as speeding or making an illegal lane change while on the phone.
Puyallup Police Sgt. Ryan Portmann said he would like to see chatting with a cell phone without hands-free technology a primary action for ticketing but he still likes the new law.
“The law is intended to create a safer environment for others,” Portmann said. “If the driver is not distracted by the cell phone they will create a safer driving environment.”
Portmann also says he believes hands-free calling makes it easier for drivers to stay in control of their vehicle if they suddenly need both hands for steering or shifting.
“You will be able to speak on the cell phone, but you will have greater control…as opposed to driving with your knees,” Portmann said. “When your hand is off the steering wheel you may not have time to react.”
The new law does allow people to operate handheld devices if they are in an emergency vehicle or tow truck en route to a disabled vehicle.
Drivers who have hearing aids are also exempt from the law and may continue to place the phone to their ear.
Motorists who use handheld cell phones to report illegal activity or to summon medical or emergency help are also exempt.
However, Pierce County’s largest provider for 911 services, LESA, asks drivers to not clog emergency lines with reports of motorists breaking the new hands-free law. LESA requests those calls go to their non-emergency number, 253-798-4721.
It’s not just drivers who are seeing the financial implications of the new law. Car and phone electronic stores are taking advantage of the law by offering sales on mobile equipment. Local businesses have seen a drastic increase in sales of hands-free accessories since people got word of the new law.
“I would say it (sales) has quadrupled if not more,” Puyallup Car Toys salesperson Jeremiah Maloney said.
Maloney also said Blue Ant, a Bluetooth speakerphone that attaches to the car’s visor, is the most popular hands-free accessory at his Puyallup store. Car Toys sells the Blue Ant for $100, less that the hands-free law ticket.
“They were selling out before but not with this urgency,” Maloney said.
Despite the new crackdown on drivers who yak on their cell phones, police want to remind motorists to take note that phone use is not the only distraction in the car.
“I believe they should take it seriously as with all laws,” Portmann said. “While this is a great law, we like to see people pay more attention to driving in general.”