By Riley Lovejoy, Attorney at Law - While for the past couple years it has technically been illegal to talk or text while driving in Washington State, it was treated as a secondary offense. What this means is that police needed to observe another traffic violation in order to stop your vehicle, at which point they could cite you for the primary violation, and if applicable, the secondary offense of driving while talking or texting on a cell phone. But starting on June 10, 2010, the cell phone ban means that Washington State police will only need to see you talking or texting in order to pull you over and fine you $124, in other words, it becomes a primary offense. In terms of the impact on DUI arrests, it could mean that a drunk driver who is exhibiting no signs of bad driving could be pulled over for talking or texting on their cell phone, and then if the officer smells the odor of intoxicants in your car, sees that you have watery, bloodshot eyes or slur your speech, he can proceed as though he pulled you over for DUI. So the moral of the story is: Don’t Drink, Talk, or Text and drive! For the KOMO news story, click here.
For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com
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