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Outside View: State driver’s test catching up

Thu., Aug. 18, 2016

The following editorial from the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin does not necessarily reflect the views of The Spokesman-Review’s editorial board.

Washington state’s written driving test is finally catching up with the times. The test has been expanded from 25 to 40 questions and cover subjects such as distracted-driving laws and marijuana laws.

It’s a good move. And it’s one that should be repeated every few years as laws change and new information about dangerous driving habits come to light.

The Tacoma News Tribune reported last week that the first overhaul of the exam in decades requires more knowledge of all traffic laws as well as an understanding of risks associated with smartphones and the legalization of marijuana.

“We wanted to add more information about impaired driving beyond the information about driving while intoxicated,” said Department of Licensing spokesman Brad Benfield. “With all the growth of cellphone use, we wanted to make sure that type of information was highlighted in the driver’s guide and test.”

That’s a good start. Not only has cellphone use expanded, but cellphone abuse – as in yapping and texting while driving – has exploded.

New drivers need to understand the dangers and the consequences of breaking the law. One of the new exam questions focuses on the fine for reading a text message while driving: $124.

Law enforcement, at the state and local levels, needs to piggyback on this test expansion by regularly cracking down on distracted drivers.

It supports an important message. In July, for example, Walla Walla police spent three hours cracking down on distracted drivers. In the short period of time, officers made more than three dozen contacts with motorists, issued several tickets and warnings, and even made an arrest.

If police here and around the state were to go after cellphone abusers regularly it would reinforce to all drivers, not just young drivers, they need to knock it off. Currently, drivers act – based on observation at any intersection – as if it is OK to have a cellphone glued to their ear or to look down with only one (or no) hand on the steering wheel.

The statistics on distracted teen drivers are alarming. A recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety concluded teen drivers spend nearly a quarter of their driving time distracted.

Marijuana use among all drivers is a problem in Washington state, where it is legal to use for recreational purposes.

The AAA Foundation found one in six drivers involved in fatal crashes in Washington in 2014 had recently used marijuana, which is the most recent data available. And, according to National Safety Council preliminary estimates, 567 people died in vehicle crashes in Washington in 2015, which is a 21 percent increase over 2014.

Highlighting the new law and putting an emphasis on older laws won’t be a cure-all, but it certainly has the potential to save lives. The Department of Licensing made the right call to expand the driver’s test.