This is not the way it works out though. While you may occasionally turn and look, in practice, this isn't how it usually is. Also, the second person in the car is eyes on the road as well. two people talking in the car is much safer for these reasons.

This is a good point. I predict highly selective enforcement

I eat behind the wheel way more than I mess with my phone

Paper maps can't possibly be less distracting than a GPS. Are they going to ban those, too?

I appreciate and support the underlying spirit of the new law, but its implementation is a joke. No one did a thing when texting was illegal, why will one more law make the difference?

Rhetorical question. Carry on.

You better make sure your car is in first when stopped at a light and a cop is behind you. Mess up and try to start in 3rd and boom "well yoiu didn't take off when the light turned green....you were distracted"

Always use the scene right out of Tommy Boy:

When is it time to talk about the 15" Dell permanently parked at the 2 o'clock position in every patrol vehicle? How is that not a distraction while us plebes can't sip a cup of Joe?

Or the radar, siren/lights, cellphone, radio, the lights blocking their view...

Just glad I'm exempt from virtually all of it...

Funny thing is, I wasn't from the last go around, but modification of the exemptions to the law give me an easy out...

Radar is low enough to not block the view. Radio is in console or HHC and left on a channel and rarely changed unless changing areas or involved in an incident, lights don't block view when installed properly..

and... MDCs? It's not like cops are running over people, because they're sending emails...... Well...uhhh... oops?

TPD doubled down and instead of saying the officer should have his eyes on the road, said 'doesn't matter, we're exempt from distracted driving laws'.... Stay classy, Tacoma...

Bluetooth headsets are not a new invention, nor are they any more expensive than all the other "necessities" some people think they need.

Don't text while driving, get a headset, leave your phone on the center console/ seat, and DRIVE. Last time I used Google Maps, it had a voice.

It should not require a law to get folks to do so, but then again, common sense isn't so common.

That's bullshit.

Maybe so but it's been that way ever since "technology" started showing up in cars and people started focusing more on it than on driving.

There IS a difference, whether or not people like it, between people who just diddle with their phones while driving and people who are trained to multi-task while driving.

Should officers be using their cell phones while driving? Probably not. Fact remains that many departments don't have enough officers on the road to allow for them to park and take care of phone calls. They have to "multi-task" and handle phone calls while driving to their next complaint.

I can't recall ever seeing a police officer talking on his phone while responding to an emergency but talking on the radio is pretty much expected. Anyway, it really doesn't matter if we think it's bullshit, that's the way it is.

Can I still diddle myself while driving?

It might not be possible to train someone to multi-task and people who think they're good multi-taskers might be fooling themselves. They may become more proficient at switching from one task to another through practice, but humans aren't very good at doing multiple things at once. At least that's what some brain researchers said in this NPR story -- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794 It's several years old but I doubt our brains have changed much in the interim.

If anything, shouldn't LEOs have less need to multi-task while driving, not more? After all, they have a radio with dispatchers directing them and feeding them information. That can be accomplished just by keying the mic.



We haven't even established that someone else can diddle you while you're driving.