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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Police hope texting drivers get message

Thomas Clouse Staff writer

BTW, that $125 ticket 4 U is no LOL-matter, dude.

In addition to linguists’ complaints that text messaging on cell phones is eroding what’s left of the English language, law enforcement soon will have a very real reason for drivers to stop sending text messages on Washington roadways.

A law takes effect Tuesday that will make it a secondary traffic infraction to text message while driving, Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Baker said.

That a means a trooper can’t stop a driver sending text messages. But he could add a $125 ticket to a speeding infraction or a reckless driving arrest.

“I don’t know how you can drive and text at the same time,” Baker said. “But I imagine there are some people who try.”

He relayed a story from Trooper Barry Marcus who recently arrested a man for reckless driving. The driver was weaving in and out of traffic and crossing the fog line before Marcus pulled him over.

“The driver said, ‘I wasn’t paying attention. I was actually text messaging someone while I was driving,’ ” Baker said. “A lot of that reckless driving came from him being distracted.”

In addition to the Jan. 1 law, Washington drivers only have six months to legally keep their cell phones glued to their heads. On July 1, anyone pulled over for speeding can get an additional $125 ticket if the trooper sees that person holding a cell phone to his or her ear, Baker said. Use of hands-free cell phones will remain legal.

“There again, will it technically be illegal to drive down the road with your phone up to your ear? I would say no,” Baker said. “But if they commit a traffic infraction and they have a phone up to their ear, you can stop them for the infraction and then cite them for the cell phone.”

Talking on a cell phone is the center of a criminal case in one of the most tragic collisions in recent memory.

WSP detectives discovered that 57-year-old Clifford Helm was either talking or had just ended a call from his wife before his pickup smashed head-on with a pickup driven by Jeffrey Schrock on U.S. 395 north of Spokane. The Nov. 1, 2005, crash killed five Schrock children, and Helm is facing trial in February on five counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault.

While police often see drivers talking on cell phones, Spokane police Officer Glenn Bartlett has his doubts about the new law governing text messages.

“I’m curious to see how this works with enforcement. A lot of the time, they hold their cell phones below where we can see,” Bartlett said. “If we can’t see the phone, we don’t know what they are doing.”

The effectiveness of the new law will rely on drivers telling the truth, something that often is in short supply during traffic stops, Bartlett said.

“It will be a good law to enforce, but tough to catch,” he said.

Baker pointed out that the seat belt law began as a secondary infraction. That changed about three years later to a primary infraction, meaning troopers can pull over any driver they see not wearing a seat belt.

Legislators “will probably make (cell phone use) a primary violation some day,” Baker said. “The major thing we hope is that parents will talk to their teenage drivers about the dangers of texting while they drive.”

Drivers should pull over on highways or streets, or exit the interstate, to find a parking lot before responding to text messages, he said.

“Even if the cell phone law is not in effect yet,” Baker added, “we don’t tend to give people breaks for failing to signal a lane change because they are messing with their phones.”