Hefty Fine for Driving and Talking on the Cell Phone

Washington State has a law that prohibits certain means of using a cell phone while driving a vehicle:

“…The law requires drivers to use “hands-free” devices such as a Bluetooth headset or speakerphone if they’re talking on the phone while behind the wheel. It’s also legal to talk into your phone as long as you’re holding it away from your ear or in your lap.

A ticket could lead to a $124 fine.”

link: Police giving out more cell-phone breaks than tickets

At the moment, these fines do not seem to be much of a deterrent to using the cell phone. The California fine is twenty dollars for the first infraction and fifty dollars for infractions thereafter. In Canada, the fines are as high as a hundred and eight dollars, with some consideration of increasing that upper limit.

The data point to a significant increase in accidents when people are using the cell phone and driving. However, it seems that these data, legislation and fines cannot convince people that it is not necessary to be connected and available at all time.

Catherine Forsythe