Distracted jiving
5
Planning a trip to Washington? Here’s something you need to know.
Starting Sunday, a new law prohibits holding any electronics while driving.
That makes sense, okay.
But part two of the new law prohibits eating, drinking, grooming, etc.
It doesn’t mention listening to the radio, but can that be far behind?
Do other states have laws this restrictive?
More details below.
- 13 comments, 15 replies
- Comment
There are two parts to the law.
One part, the Electronics DUI offense, prohibits people from holding any electronic device in their hand while driving, stopped in traffic or stopped at a light. Officers who see drivers holding an electronic device in their hand will be able to pull the driver over as a primary offense. You are allowed to hold your phone to contact emergency services or if you are parked or pulled over and safely stopped out of the way of traffic. Troopers say the side of the freeway is not a good option.
The second part refers to other activities that could cause distracted driving, such as, but not limited to, eating, smoking, reading or grooming.
This is a secondary offense, meaning you must be pulled over for another offense, such as a dangerous lane change, to be cited for such an activity, and the activity interfered with safe driving.
This part of the law only applies if an officer catches a driver being distracted while committing a standard traffic offense, such as running a stop sign because their coffee spilled.
How much is the E-DUI fine?
People caught holding a personal electronic device while driving or on the road will be fined $136. If a driver receives a second E-DUI ticket within five years, the fine will be $234.
How much is the fine for other types of distractions?
$99.
Q&A
Honestly, I hardly ever eat in the car except on long trips, but I’m lost without my water bottle.
@KDemo
Agreed
That seems harsh. People have been legally eating and (non-alcoholic) drinking while driving for more than a century.
Not cool.
@f00l - I just thought of something. Will be interesting to see whether the fast food drive-through businesses are affected.
I wouldn’t mind if there were fewer.
@KDemo I’m guessing that’s why it’s only a secondary offence. If you can drink your water without causing an accident, you’re good.
@f00l i agree seems odd e-offenses are so much higher, but think about it: you glance for a second to make sure the straw is aimed at your mouth, but didn’t you plan to come to Meh for a “quick check” and yet you are still looking at your phone 5 minutes later.
Fuck Washingtonistan pry my breakfast burrito from my cold dead hands.
Have to go back to reading the newspaper on the steering wheel.
@cranky1950
Let the new revenue spigot open
@thismyusername we have a dash mount like this, but sometimes i still have to hold my phone at certain times to see the gps if it’s super bright out. (or really, wedge it below the radio and periodically adjust it.)
Now this is entertaining
So tattletales will also get in trouble if they are the driver of a different car. LOL
So what if you’re in an accident on the freeway?
@RiotDemon don’t just be stopping on the side of the highway to check instagram or whatever. but if you’re in an accident, stay there. when i was 17ish i was rammed into the jersey barrier on the highway by a sppeding, erratic driver. i managed to keep control of the car and not cause a second accident, thankfully. but i was in the left lane of the highway. since i was able, i thought the safest thing to do would be to pull off out of traffic. i was so upset my mom called the police for me. i knew the make and model of the car, but they said they couldn’t do anything without a license plate. (like take a cruise down this stretch of road and see if he’s still driving like a maniac?) then they told me i should be thankful they weren’t coming to arrest me for leaving the scene of an accident.
i don’t like it. pull someone over if they are speeding or driving erratically and issue a ticket or arrest accordingly. we don’t need to manufacture reasons for it and to be giving cops more stuff to lie about. it’s like drug testing at work - if they’re a shitty employee, fire them. doesn’t need to go deeper than that. people can become distracted for all kinds of reasons - they see an accident, changing the radio station, talking to someone in the car, having a child/children in the backseat, you name it. and yes, for the reasons listed in the ban/proposed ban too.
but you can also be a perfectly good driver while doing any of these things, and i don’t like giving police more bullshit reasons to pull people over. we all need to be using dashcams 24/7 imho.
i do check my phone occasionally (if i see my partner or one of my parents has texted) but only while my car is stopped. if someone rams into me at a red light, not having been looking at my phone wouldn’t have changed that. i don’t get invested, and watching the light or the car in front of me is always first priority.
i also sometimes have to hold/move my phone if it’s very bright so i can see the gps screen. again, while stopped. i do also occasionally eat in my car, usually a container of fruit on days where i’ve been unable to eat previously and now it’s 6pm. but the road is my priority- if something spills, oh well. a little fruit juice on the seat isn’t worth an accident. and like others i never go anywhere without water. what too about the lozenges i keep in the car because i’ve had a cough for two months? it’s safer for me to eat one of those than be coughing uncontrollably behind the wheel.
and i do smoke in the car if my trip is over an hour and i’m alone. it doesn’t distract me - actually the opposite - i do it to keep me focused and calm.
@jerk_nugget both hands on the wheel and don’t litter, please
@medz /shrug
i drive with one hand at the bottom of the steering wheel even when i’m not doing anything with the other one, heh.
Take that, smokers!
So, does this mean the resurgence of CB radios?
That’s a big 10-4 good buddy!
@KDemo
I foresee cell phone cases that look like CB radios.
It looks like hands-free is legal, even though it’s nearly as bad as holding the phone.
http://www.nsc.org/learn/NSC-Initiatives/Pages/distracted-driving-hands-free-is-not-risk-free-infographic.aspx
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161213093104.htm
Around here the typical vehicle is a Tahoe or F-150 operated by someone with an earpiece who drives like they’re drunk.
@2many2no - That seems true.
I say if you have a kid in the back seat and you’re eating and applying mascara while you drive and talk, you’re gonna need tinted windows.
@KDemo Only if the kid’s not wearing a seatbelt.
After my ride to work today, I say, kids are the worst distraction! Will it soon be illegal to drive with children in the car???
I’ve seen someone driving and eating a bowl of cereal!
@ragingredd - Was it
?
And to think, a simple little law could have prevented this…
http://ksn.com/2017/08/02/woman-crashes-into-topeka-home-after-dropping-cigarette-while-driving/
Luckily, nobody was hurt.
@medz - Hard to believe no one was hurt. The FDA wants to lower the nicotine levels in cigarettes to “non-addictive” levels. That should help?