Starting Tuesday, July 1, the Washington State Patrol will begin enforcing a new law requiring drivers talking on cell phones to use a headset or speaker-phone.

Those who don’t could pay a $124 fine.

“When you’re driving you need to be driving,” WSP Chief John R. Batiste said. “We’d prefer that drivers didn’t talk on their cell phones at all. But if you must, please stay safe by using a headset or speaker-phone.”

The law applies only to drivers, not passengers. There is also an exemption for drivers calling 9-1-1 to report a highway emergency. CB radios or other communications devices that are not held up to the ear are also exempt.

“The key is whether the device is held up to the ear,” Batiste said. “That’s what our troopers will be watching for.”

Failure to use a headset or speaker-phone is considered a secondary violation, which means troopers can not stop a motorist for that alone. But troopers will not hesitate to cite if they first see some other violation such as weaving across lanes.

The hands-free requirement was passed in the 2007 legislative session.

Statistics on cell phone involvement in collisions are difficult to gather. They require a driver who’s been in a collision to admit they were on the phone, something WSP considers unlikely. In 2006, nearly 210,000 drivers were involved in collisions. Only about 1,300 admitted talking on a phone at the time.

Although troopers always have discretion on whether to issue warnings or citations, there is no official grace period planned by WSP, Batiste said. The requirements, he noted, have been well-publicized, and are easy to meet.

Although troopers will be looking for cell phone violators, their highest enforcement priority will remain those primary violations proven to cause fatalities: Speeding, impaired driving, failure to wear seat belts and aggressive driving.