WENATCHEE — Fred Booth has a few hands-free devices and knows all about the upcoming cell phone law.

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(World photos/Don Seabrook)

But Booth, 47, from Manson, said he still plans on talking on a hand-held cell phone despite the risk of getting a $124 fine.

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(World photo/Don Seabrook)

"If I see a cop when driving down the road and I don't have my Bluetooth in, I'm going to drop my phone and then pick it up after he passes me," he said.

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(World photo/Don Seabrook)

Washington's statewide ban on talking on a cell phone while driving takes effect Tuesday. The ban prohibits drivers from holding a phone up to the ear but lets people use a phone in hands-free mode.

Other exemptions to the ban include people operating an emergency vehicle, using the device to report illegal activity or for emergency help or a person using a hearing aid.

Washington is one of five states with bans on cell phone use while driving. The law will force many drivers to obtain a hands-free device.

"If you got to do it, I guess you're going to have to wear those little dorky things in your ear and look like you're on Star Trek or something," Booth said of the ear pieces drivers can wear if they want to talk on the phone and drive.

The law is a secondary offense so an officer would need to stop a driver for a primary infraction — such as speeding, swerving or running a red light — to give a ticket for cell phone use.

Wenatchee police Sgt. Cherie Smith said drivers tend to break the law accidentally when they are talking on the phone because of a lack of concentration, she said. Smith has a friend who talks on the phone in a car with a stick shift.

"He's driving, drinking coffee, shifting, talking on the cell phone," she said. "I'm surprised he hasn't been in an accident."

Justina Heflin, 33, from Ephrata, talks on the phone and sometimes checks her e-mail with her BlackBerry while she drives. When Heflin begins to use her headset, she said it will allow her to use her other hand to drink coffee.

Heflin likes the ban because it will make streets safer, she said. But she has a Bluetooth headset that is hard to use, so she drives and talks with a phone to her ear.

"I had a Bluetooth and I had trouble with it just because I was technologically challenged," she said. "It just forces me to learn and reconnect the Bluetooth and get on board."

In a study released in 2007, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimated that 5 percent of drivers are using cell phones while driving on the roadway at any given daylight moment. According to the study, about 0.6 percent of drivers spoke on the phone using a headset.

Although police are exempt, the Wenatchee Police Department has bought a hands-free system that hooks up to the speakers in a car.

It is one of a few options drivers have if they want to drive and chat.

Along with the stereo device, options include Bluetooth wireless headsets and, although not as popular, headsets with wires, said Greg Heuchert, owner of Beyond Wireless in Wenatchee. In front of Heuchert's cell phone store is a sign that reads: "Hands Free Talking. It's the Law." Because of the law, Heuchert said he has seen a threefold increase in sales of the hands-free cell phone equipment since December. In the past month, sales have flattened out for the 30 different hands-free devices because of public confusion, he said.

He said many people confused the cell phone ban with the text messaging ban that took effect in January. Also, he said, the cell phone ban won't attract the attention of most drivers until it takes effect.

"I think people wait to see if they get tickets," Heuchert said. "If people start getting more tickets, you'll see more people using it."

Nick Barnes, 37, of Wenatchee, was looking for a new phone Wednesday because the wireless headsets don't work with his old one.

"I got to get an earpiece," Barnes said. "My phone's not Bluetooth compatible. It's going to cost me more money."

Elina Galkins, AT&T marketing director for the Pacific Northwest, said in other markets after the ban goes into effect, sales spike. The company has been informing customers about the ban and promoting its new hands-free models, she said.

"We just want to make people aware that it's there and make sure they don't get caught," Galkins said.

While newly released Bluetooth devices have been popular, some people use what they already have.

Allen East, 48, of Wenatchee, said he drives using the built-in speaker in his phone and placing it on his lap. If the conversation conflicts with his driving, he gets off the road and takes the call.

East said he tries to talk on the phone as little as possible when he drives because it distracts him. While he agrees roads are safer without drivers distracted by the phone, he disagrees with the ban. Drivers are distracted by other things when they drive, he said.

"Why don't you ban other things in the car, like eating?" he said.

Alejandro Gonzalez: 670-5138

gonzalez@wenatcheeworld.com