"I don't see it happening anytime soon," said state Sen. Tracey Eide, a Federal Way Democrat who knows plenty about trying to curb cell use by drivers.
It took her 10 years to persuade this state to pass a law that went into effect in 2010 and bans drivers from texting, or holding a handheld device to your ear. "I drive two hours a day to and from Olympia, and I still see people using cellphones and texting," Eide said. "It's a societal issue. People have to come to terms with how dangerous it is."
She says she doesn't even see the point of introducing the kind of restrictive law proposed by the federal agency.
On Tuesday, the NTSB said texting, emailing or chatting on a cellphone, even hands-free devices, while driving is simply too dangerous to be allowed, and urged a total ban except for emergencies.
The board says it was inspired by recent deadly crashes — including one in Missouri last year in which a teenager sent or received 11 text messages in 11 minutes before the accident. Two people were killed, 38 injured.
But such a total ban certainly would meet plenty of opposition from consumers, including businesses that see the devices as integral to their livelihoods.
Marv Nelson, owner of Nelson Electric in Seattle and governor of the Puget Sound chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, says his employees use Bluetooth wireless devices.
"They call en route to service projects, or when they get lost or coordinate with customers," Nelson said. "It's a vital feature to do your job."
The State Patrol says that, from January to Nov. 30 of this year, it has issued 656 tickets to drivers who were texting, and, in that same period, issued 6,925 tickets for talking on a cellphone while holding it to the ear. The fine is $124 for either infraction.
As for a total ban on cellphone use, Sgt. J.J. Gundermann, spokesman for the patrol, said, "We're unsure if the public or the Legislature would support anything more than has already been done."
A researcher who has studied cellphone use says Americans don't mind regulations.
"It's just that people don't want the regulations to apply to them," said David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah.
His research, and over the years that at other institutions, show there is no difference in driver impairment between those talking on handheld versus hands-free cells.
The problem, Strayer says, isn't with the hands. It's with the brain. Drivers turn their focus to the conversation rather than the road.
When using a cellphone for texting or calling, Strayer says, "the brain becomes overloaded."
So he supports the NTSB recommendation for banning all cellphone use, especially in light of survey figures showing that about two of every 10 American drivers overall — and half of drivers between 21 and 24 — say they've thumbed messages or emailed from the driver's seat.
But, like Sen. Eide, Strayer doesn't hold out much hope for such a ban soon.
"It's like the drunk-driving movement was 30 or 40 years ago," Strayer said. "There was plenty of scientific evidence that it wasn't a good idea to drink and drive. But it took a lot of effort by the feds and advocacy groups."
To the professor, the hazards of talking or texting on a cellphone are the same.
If states can ban texting while driving, he says, they should do the same for talking on a cell.
"It's like saying you can't get drunk on vodka, but it's OK to get drunk on Scotch," Strayer said.
Meanwhile, the American love for using electronic devices in cars just keeps increasing.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly one in every 100 car drivers was texting, emailing, surfing the Web or otherwise using a handheld electronic device. That's up 50 percent from last year.
And, as Strayer notes, you now can set your car up to watch Netflix and drive at the same time.
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