On July 1, new laws in California and Washington State will take effect and prohibit people from driving while they use a hand-held cell phone.


The offense is primary in California, secondary in Washington, reports the American Trucking Associations' State Laws Newsletter. The penalty in California is $20 for the first offense, and $50 for subsequent offenses, while in Washington the fine is $124.

The California law specifies that those operating commercial vehicles may continue to use two-way radios.

Connecticut outlawed driving with cell phones three years ago (as a few other states also have done), ATA notes, and the press there reports that although more than 10,000 citations have been issued under the law, some doubt whether it has had much of an effect on Connecticut drivers' behavior.