When is a Cell Phone Call Really a DUI? by Jon Scott Fox   June 2010

Washington State's new cell phone law went into effect on June 10, 2010. Here are some of the major provisions:

1. Violation is a "primary offense" which means that a police officer can stop you for this reason alone.
2. The fine for violating the law is $124.00.
3. The law is broken if you hold a cell phone to your ear. There is no ban on driving while holding your cell phone in front of you in speakerphone mode (despite the fact that this is every bit as distracting.)
4. It is illegal to send, read, or write a text message. "Text message" is not defined. Does it include a Blackberry email or is the law limited to true "text" (SMS) messages?
5. It is illegal for your teenager to use a cell phone while driving until he or she is eighteen years old. This is true even if a wireless Bluetooth system is used. If a parent is trying to reach their teenager by cell phone, the teenager can't legally take the call while driving. The teenager can only use the cell phone while driving to report illegal activity, summon medical or other emergency help, or prevent injury to a person or property.

Here's the interesting part: According to the Department of Licensing's website, a driver talking on a cell phone "is as impaired as a driver with a .08 blood-alcohol level." The website does not distinguish between impairment from hands free or "to the ear" cell phone use. In addition, the same website states "A driver who is texting is as impaired as a driver with a .16 blood-alcohol level. That's double the legal limit." It appears that these statistics are based in part upon a 2006 University of Utah study.

Here's the question for the Legislature: If the Washington State Department of Licensing believes that cell phone use and texting is as dangerous as drunk driving, then why is the penalty just a fine of $124? A Washington State DUI carries mandatory jail, high risk insurance, license suspension, alcohol treatment and probation. A Washington state DUI stays on a driver's record for life. In contrast, cell phone use and texting, which the Department of Licensing believes creates the same degree of risk as drunk driving, carries only a fine. By law a cell phone ticket does not even go on a driver's record, nor is it reported to insurance companies.

This law raises several questions:

(1) If the danger addressed in the cell phone law really exists, then why aren't such violations disclosed to insurance companies in the same manner that a DUI conviction is disclosed to insurance companies? The law makes the "good" drivers shoulder the increased accident risks (and costs) posed by the "bad" drivers who engage in risky cell phone conduct while driving.

(2) Is the cell phone law really about public safety, or is it only about revenue?