You watch old movies where teens jump into cars and there’s nary a seat belt in sight. Or you watch your own home movies and see the little ones – not restrained in any way – waving happily. And there’s Gramps at the wheel, nursing one last beer for the road.

It seems so funny now that drivers, and society, were once so naive about the need for seat belts, child restraints, and drinking and driving laws.

Someday, people might find it amusing when they see old movies – or home movies – of teens texting messages to each other while driving. LOL. As of Tuesday, this practice is illegal in Washington state.

It’s a secondary violation, which means you can’t be stopped simply for texting. But say you’re distracted while texting and run a red light, you can get nabbed then for both offenses. And the texting tickets aren’t cheap. It’ll cost you between $124 and $175, depending on whether a collision occurred because of the texting.

In six months, it will also be against the law for drivers to talk on cell phones unless they use hands-free devices. But just as 4 percent of Washington drivers risk a ticket rather than use a seat belt, and just as people still drink and drive (often disguising their booze in soda cans), drivers will continue to text while driving and after July 1, some will continue to drive with cell phones pressed to their ears.

The law has sound intentions behind it. Distractions of all kinds account for 80 percent of vehicle accidents each year. But the law needs to be tested against common sense. How easy will it be for law enforcement to prove that a driver was texting or yakking on a hand-held cell phone? These are both easy activities to hide after the fact. To truly enforce it, will the state need to routinely subpoena cell phone records? And will the safety benefits be worth the potential expense and hassle?

Like all other safe driving laws, the texting and cell phone bans will work only when they become part of a driver’s good habits. Let’s hope this happens.