Washington

Quick Stats:
State Name: Washington
State Handheld Ban: Yes
Text-Message Ban: Yes
School Bus Driver Ban: No
Novice Driver Ban: No
Enforcement Type: Secondary

The state of Washington currently has two cellphone related bans in effect. From January 1st, 2008 - drivers are not allowed to use text-messaging on their phones. An addition, from July 1st, 2008 - drivers must use hands-free devices to talk while driving. The law came in hand-by-hand with the California hands-free law, also in July.

Drivers will be fined $124 for the first and any subsequent violations of the hands-free law. Since not abiding by the law is a secondary offense, drivers will be stopped only if they are found to be driving unsafe or are in violation of other laws.

Cindy Baker-Williams and her son Billy were among those who stood by as Gregoire signed the bills. Billy, 12, suffered a brain injury four years ago while walking to the school bus. Witnesses to the crash said the driver was talking on a cell phone at the time, Baker-Williams said.

"It's a very emotional time," she said. "Behind this bill, we see faces of people in our community who hopefully will never have to go through a pedestrian-car accident."

Billy Williams, who was in a coma for nearly a month and suffered injuries to his brain's speech centers, now helps his mom keep an eye out for distracted drivers.