Police agencies in King County cited more than 280 drivers for using their cellphone and 88 drivers for texting while driving during a recent two-week crackdown on distracted driving.
Officers, including State Patrol troopers, made more than 1,800 contacts with drivers, which included several felony arrests, 2 DUI’s, and 110 tickets issued to violators who were not wearing seat belts, according to a King County Target Zero Task Force media release on Wednesday.
“Even though we got the word out to the media before, we still found a lot of drivers without their full attention on the road,” said Kurt Schwan of the Federal Way Police Department. “It’s a major safety hazard and we’ll continue extra patrols in the summer to get the message across.”
In Washington State, drivers are prohibited from texting or talking on their cellular phones without the use of hands-free device. The fine for this violation is $124 but could be increased in the case of a traffic collision. Any drivers under the age of 18 are not allowed to use any cellular phone device at all.
Extra patrols were funded by grants from King County Emergency Medical Services and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission with the coordination of the King County Target Zero Task Force.
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