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

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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Whether you decide to travel from Spokane to Seattle, Yakima to Yelm, or points in between during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you will probably notice an increased police presence.  But rather than serve you some turkey and pumpkin pie, the police will be serving motorists with speeding tickets and other traffic tickets for such offenses as negligent driving, following too close, and improper lane change. 

The days preceding and following holidays are typically among the times of year when most fatality-collisions occur.  According to AAA, 2.1 million more travelers will be on the road this year during the hoilday weekend. 

Officers will not only be responding to collisions and looking for speeding, but also for drivers and passengers not wearing seat belts and also for cars with expired tabs. 

Of course, should you receive a ticket for a moving violation, you will want to fight it so that you can save money on insurance premiums and keep your driving record clean. 

Happy Thanksgiving and safe driving this holiday weekend. 

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Earlier this week Seattle Times reporter Danny Westneat wrote about his frustration and how his driving habits have changed--for the worse--since Seattle decided to put up red-light cameras.

Since drivers call me daily to talk about red-light camera traffic tickets that motorists have received in the mail (and no one has called me happy to have received such a gift), it is important to note that a red-light camera traffic ticket has no effect on insurance premiums, although if a driver is stopped by a police officer and cited for a red light violation, this latter type of violation does have consequences to insurance costs.

Seattle joins other cities like Auburn, Bellevue, Bremerton, Burien, Federal Way, Fife, Issaquah, Lacey, Lake Forest Park, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Monroe, Moses Lake, Puyallup, Renton, Seatac, Spokane, Tacoma, and Wenatchee in having some form of automated traffic camera devices.

Westneat makes many good observations (more after the jump).

Continue Reading...

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In a matter of weeks, Washington drivers will no longer be allowed to legally hold and talk on a cell phone while driving. As state, county, and local governments look to "protect" you, my gentle readers from yourselves and the public, they're also looking to take a few of your hard-earned bucks off you by having the police pull you over, delay you, and write you tickets. Don't let the government take your money.

Before you use your cell phone while driving, get a hands-free device for your cell phone. Hands-free cell phone devices are allowed and they are the new, permissible way to drive and talk on your cell phone. Hopefully the devices will save you some money as well.

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Last week the AP picked up a story from the Southwest Washington Columbian newspaper about the WSP's increased frequency of issuing speeding tickets to motorists in Washington. Not only is the WSP issuing more traffic tickets, the WSP has incentives to do so:  some of the money from ticket fines are used to fund the agency and the agency won an award from the International Association of Police Chiefs for the best state police agency of its size when the WSP's speeding ticket total exceeded the total from the previous year. Some interesting statistics found in the article:

• Snohomish County and Clark County have the highest number of tickets issued per mile on state and federal highways (it's unclear whether these counties beat out other states or if state highways refer only to Washington)
• The WSP issued 280,000 speeding tickets in Washington in 2006, an increase of 55,000.  These tickets are also only for speeding.  These numbers do not include other types of traffic offenses and this number does not include the hundreds of thousands of tickets issued by municipal police departments and  county sheriffs' departments.
• In the first half of 2007, troopers issued more than 165,000 speeding tickets
• Although tickets are up, fatalities were up 23% on Washington highways in the first eleven months of 2007.
• Troopers in Asotin County, in the far southeast corner of the state, issued only 155 tickets for the first half of 2007.
• Spokane County ranks 7th highest among Washington counties for speeding tickets issued.
• Of all Washington counties, Adams County has the highest number of WSP speeding tickets per 100 residents.
• King County and Pierce County are in the bottom third of Washington counties for WSP speeding tickets when number of residents is considered.
• Motorists now receive speeding tickets in 60%-65% of traffic stops, up from 44%, a 36%-48% increase.
• The WSP is aggressively searching to fill 86 vacancies for its "field force" - the troopers who give traffic tickets to motorists.

The bottom line is that a higher number of speeding tickets means more more people will probably pay their tickets, resulting in increased insurance premiums and tarnished driving records. This is why it's critical to have an experienced traffic attorney fight to keep your driving record clean and your insurance costs low.  If you received a speeding ticket or ticket for another type of traffic offense, call me today - help is only a phone call away.

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