Washington Traffic Law Blog : Washington Traffic Lawyer & Attorney : Jon Zimmerman Law Firm : Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma

As drivers begin travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, they should be aware that law enforcement will be joining them on the roadway in places such as Seattle, Everett, and Tacoma, and points in between. A couple years ago I wrote about the Thanksgiving holiday weekend being the worst for traffic fatalities. Add more cars to the road, families in confined spaces over long distances, and the sometimes-complicated dynamics of family get-togethers and a recipe exists for distracted drivers and traffic violations. What this usually means is more collisions, more traffic tickets for violations of following too closely, failure to control speed to avoid a collision, speeding, negligent driving, and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle or violations of emergency zones. Whatever the reason for the police pulling someone over, expect a greater emphasis on enforcement.   Below are a few tips for trying to avoid getting cited over the holiday weekend in the State of Washington. 

First, drop the cell phone. Cell phones are a major reason people get pulled over. Distracted or not, and whether you are actually holding the phone to your ear will be secondary to the police officer who pulls you over when the officer sees you holding a cell phone. If you have a Bluetooth-enabled device consider using this, but do not dial or text while driving or even while in traffic. Avoiding these behaviors will save you some hassle.  

Second, if you drink let someone else do the driving. Despite the fact that it is legal to drink and drive in the State of Washington (with limitations, of course), you can be below a .08 and still be charged with DUI or an alcohol-related offense. Thanksgiving is a holiday when law enforcement is going to be serious about enforcement, and you can be serious about your driving. Stay over at a friend’s or family member’s house if you drink over the holiday weekend. Even if you only have a drink, if you are in any collision (even one not your fault) and this causes a police response, the investigation will be longer if the odor of alcohol is detected or you exhibit any signs of impairment. 

Third, try to reduce speed and switch lanes prior to 200 feet, if safe to do so, before you catch up to visible emergency responders, including tow trucks, police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. Under RCW 46.61.212, you can be cited for an enhanced traffic infraction, and if you put or were likely to put an emergency worker in danger, you can be charged with the gross misdemeanor of reckless endangerment of an emergency worker.  Slowing down and creating an extra lane between your vehicle and an emergency response vehicle are good ways to avoid these types of traffic offenses. Of course, if you get cited, you can send me an e-mail or call me for help.

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I've written before on Washington's new cell phone law that makes it lawful for the police to pull over and cite a driver for holding a cell phone or other wireless communication device to the driver's ear while driving.  The law does not ban speech or talking on a phone with a handsfree device while driving.  

While the police used to need another reason (a primary offense to stop a driver), the new law that takes effect on June 10, 2010 allows the police more power to stop drivers, as the Washington Legislature made a cell phone infraction a primary offense after the Legislature failed to do so earlier in the legislative session.  

One of the upsides of the new law is that it will probably not have a tremendous effect on the poor, who are probably less likely to own vehicles and cell phones.  Parents who want their children to not use cell phones while driving will be pleased to know that the new law prohibits any cell phone use while driving for drivers under the age of 18.  

One of the downsides, however, is the new law's dubious effect on public safety, as Erik Lacitis reports in the Seattle Times.

As reported by Lacitis, studies have shown that the problem with driving stems from driver distraction distraction and not whether a driver is holding the cell phone or speaking into a handsfree device.   

Senator Tracey Eide (D-Federal Way), believes the new law will save lives as drivers talking with a handsfree device will be able to have two hands on the wheel while being able to look left and right.

Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste believes that under the old, secondary offense law, drivers showed outright defiance.  3,000 tickets were apparently not enough in the last two years, and Batiste states that the WSP will be enforcing the new law starting June 10, 2010.   

It's difficult to ascertain whether the new law will encourage more talking on cell phones with handsfree devices and, possibly, increase injuries and deaths or whether the new law will actually save lives by decreasing collisions.  

Washington has had a primary offense seat belt law since 2002, and NHTSA reports that in 2008, Washington's seat belt use was the third-highest among U.S. states at 96.5 percent, trailing only Hawaii and Michigan.  While seat belt use reduces deaths from auto collisions, only time will tell whether a law restricting the manner of talking on a cell phone will decrease the loss of life.  

For now, drivers in Washington should know that starting June 10, 2010, police officers from Blaine to Bellevue and Seattle to Spokane will be enforcing the new law and issuing a lot of tickets.  

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Yesterday the Washington House of Representatives reversed itself by passing the Washington Senate's version of a cell phone/texting bill, which the Governor is expected to sign.  

What does this mean to drivers in the State of Washington?  It means that if the bill becomes law (and it's really more a matter of when than if), police officers will be able to stop motorists who are holding cell phones and/or texting while driving without witnessing another offense.  Current law allows the police to issue traffic tickets to motorists for holding a cell phone or texting only if some other primary driving infraction (e.g., speeding, improper lane change) is being committed at the same time.  

Proponents think the new legislation will save lives; opponents see government intrusion and wonder why other activities such as smoking, eating, and putting on makeup are not similarly made primary offenses.  

As an attorney who deals with traffic offense cases every day, while I strongly support measures that make roadway users safe, I also believe in providing the driving public with incentives--especially economic ones--that will make drivers alter behavior in a positive way. 

The new legislation, while making cell phone and texting infractions primary offenses, prohibits the offenses from becoming part of a driver's record that is available to insurance companies.  Here, the Legislature creates a monetary penalty for the offenses, but says "hey, we don't want this offense on a driver's record, because even though we think this type of driving is so outrageous, and there is a major safety issue here that we must spend a ton of time with in this legislative session, we don't think it's really worth telling the public about or insurers."  Instead, the Legislature sends the following message:  the conduct is so unsafe that we don't want anyone to know the people who perform this unsafe behavior, so we will not punish through insurance increases anyone who breaks the law and we will not reward those who choose to obey the law.  

There's a reason that the word "law" is in the word "flaw."  The Legislature could have done a much better job by passing a bill that actually helps people who obey the restrictions obtain better insurance premiums.  After all, if the conduct is so dangerous, than clearly risky drivers ought to assume a greater financial burden.  But the Legislature didn't care about that, and instead chose expediency over substance, a common theme in this session.  

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