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Troopers issue more than 800 tickets for E-DUI in 2018

SPOKANE, Wash. — A state law that makes it a crime to drive while using electronic devices has resulted in hundreds of tickets being issued since Jan. 1.

The law, titled the Driving Under the Influence of Electronics Act, went into effect in June but law enforcement officers did not start issuing citations until the new year.

Washington State Patrol spokesman James Prouty told The Spokesman-Review that troopers in January made 1,677 E-DUI stops statewide and doled out 878 tickets.

An E-DUI is defined as use of a personal electronic device while driving a motor vehicle on a public highway. A person who does so is guilty of a traffic infraction and must pay a fine. A first offense is $136; a second within five years is $234.

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