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Safety advocates and lawmakers say it's time to increase the fines for repeat offenders of Washington's ban on texting and talking while driving. (AP image)

Repeat talk, text ban offenders could face higher fines

BY Josh Kerns  on December 4, 2012 @ 7:47 am (Updated: 8:50 am - 12/4/12 )

Repeat offenders of Washington's ban on texting and talking while driving could be facing higher fines if some officials have their way in a bid for more federal funds.

Washington isn't currently eligible for a hefty grant from Congress for transportation funding because the state's penalty for talking and texting while driving doesn't increase for repeat offenders, The News Tribune reports.

But Jonna VanDyk with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission says it's time for the Legislature to change that.

"It could be a sizable Powerball for the state if we had the laws in place that would allow us to be able to access those funds," VanDyk tells the News Tribune.

Currently, someone caught texting or talking on the phone while driving pays a $124 fine, regardless of the number of offenses.

Sen. Tracey Eide, a Des Moines Democrat who led the effort to make texting or talking while driving a crime, agrees it's an issue that should be taken up in the next session.

"Maybe we'll increase the penalties," said Eide. "I think that's what the feds want us to do."

Eide says despite the laws, the Washington State Patrol still wrote more than 8,000 tickets and gave out 10,000 warnings last year alone.

Officials hope to qualify for funding to pay for a large-scale education campaign about texting laws and more targeted enforcement of the laws.

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (8)


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  • GloScot wrote...
    The law is a joke
    December 4, 2012 8:23 am
    With several million drivers on the road, the state patrol wrote 8,000 tickets? Is this for all of 2012? I see people talking and texting all the time, and many times right in front of a cop. Enforcement could be a day-long affair for the police...but then that's all they'd be doing. I work in public safety but I think sometimes our laws that are meant to save lives are a waste of the time used to enact them. They are not enforced, sometimes it's impossible to enforce them, and people don't care and will use their phones, anyway.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • chellesbelles wrote...
    @GloScot
    December 4, 2012 9:06 am
    I agree that the law is a joke, but I do understand the reasoning behind it. I believe that they should make it so that if a person causes an accident by talking on their phone or texting, whether it causes property damage, injury or death, they should be jailed immediately AND given a hefty fine. For any further accidents the penalty should go up exponentially. Maybe people would think twice before talking or texting if the penalty was severe. But probably not.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GloScot wrote...
    Chellesbelles
    December 4, 2012 10:36 am
    Don't get me wrong, I think we ought to have the law, but this law, like others of its kind, is meant to change people's behavior-and I really don't see that happening. This is akin to child car seat laws. I am a car seat tech and I see the same problem - lack of enforcement. Parting with $124 for that violation is not enough of a threat for most parents and caregivers. So when a crash happens, it usually is tragic, but at best it results in a hefty hospital bill and many followups for physical therapy. I have had state troopers tell me that they WON'T enforce the law. In short, if we have laws on the books, we need to obey them and they must be enforced. Otherwise, what's the point? Your point about more severe penalties might scare some.
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  • flipper wrote...
    Cops are too busy
    December 4, 2012 10:48 am
    eating donuts and drinking coffee and talking/texting on their own phones.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    GOOD!
    December 4, 2012 10:03 am
    Double it in the 2nd violation...then triple it on the third and so on...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Str8Thinking wrote...
    If the cops wanted to write more of those tickets,
    December 4, 2012 12:55 pm
    They would just need to sit outside the parking lot of my work a 5pm each day. Standing at the crosswalk watching people leave for the day gives ~30% of people are on the phone as they pull onto the road.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    Don't give them ideas,Str8.
    December 4, 2012 2:18 pm
    I can see cameras snapping away and some peon in LE pouring over them to find offenders and a source of revenue.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • murr wrote...
    Only if political leaders were that accountable.
    December 4, 2012 2:34 pm
    Or anyone on the tax dole, then it would be like the city of Pacific.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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