2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, AUGUST 7, 2017
New law: Driving with coffee still (mostly) OK
State clarifi es
new policies on
distracted driving
mission spokeswoman Shelly
Baldwin said.
A 2015 study by the com-
mission found 1 in 10 drivers
were distracted on the road in
one way or another.
By AMY NILE
EO Media Group
Authorities signal
differences
LONG BEACH, Wash. —
Don’t worry, drivers in Wash-
ington state can still dine
behind the wheel or get their
caffeine fi x without running
into trouble with the law, at
least most of the time.
The state’s new distract-
ed-driving law took effect on
July 23. It has caused some
confusion about what people
are now allowed to do while
driving.
The Driving Under the
Infl uence of Electronics Act
bans all nonemergency use of
hand-held devices. It also pro-
hibits watching videos, even on
dash-mounted screens.
Fifteen states and the Dis-
trict of Columbia have banned
hand-held cellphone use while
driving, according to the Gov-
ernors Highway Safety Associ-
ation. However, Washington’s
law prohibits use of all hand-
held devices entirely, even
when drivers are stopped at an
intersection or in traffi c.
They are allowed one touch
or swipe to activate hands-
free electronics if the device is
built-in or secured in a dash-
board holder.
Using hand-held electron-
ics while driving is now a pri-
mary traffi c offense that comes
with $136 ticket. The fi ne goes
up to $234 for a second viola-
U.S. Marine Corps
A participant tests a text-while-driving simulator at the Distracted Driving event aboard
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. The event showed a graphic video of the con-
sequences of driving while texting and a static display of a coffin to show a possible
outcome of distracted driving.
tion within fi ve years. Offenses
go on a driver’s record and
are reported to their insurance
company.
Don’t blame the burger
The confusion about what
drivers can and can’t do behind
the wheel comes from a section
of the new law that treats non-
electronic distractions, includ-
ing eating, drinking, smok-
ing or grooming as secondary
offenses. That means police
can give drivers a $99 ticket
for “dangerous distractions”
on top of other fi nes, if they’re
pulled over for a primary traf-
fi c violation, such as speeding,
changing lanes without signal-
ing or using electronics.
To tack on the $99, offi -
cers have to connect a specifi c
distraction, such as eating a
cheeseburger, with the primary
traffi c offense or driving mis-
hap, Washington State Patrol
Capt. Monica Alexander said .
“We would have to artic-
ulate how that cheeseburger
caused that collision,” she told
reporters.
Alexander quickly clari-
fi ed that she didn’t mean to
point the fi nger at an inno-
cent cheeseburger; the driver
who was eating it would be to
blame.
Sessions raises concerns over
Washington state’s pot legalization
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Washing-
ton Attorney General Bob
Ferguson says he’s disap-
pointed with a letter from
U.S. Attorney General Jeff
Sessions about the state’s
efforts to regulate marijuana.
In a letter dated July
24 , Sessions pointed out
to Ferguson and Gov. Jay
Inslee that a 2013 Justice
Department memo which
was interpreted as clearing
the way for states to regu-
late marijuana did not pre-
clude federal prosecution.
Sessions also highlighted a
2016 report from a federally
funded drug enforcement
organization that raised
questions about how effec-
tively the state is controlling
the industry.
Sessions asked Ferguson
and Inslee to provide infor-
mation about how they’re
TUESDAY
Associated Press
SALEM — The Oregon
Department of Agriculture
says the state’s nursery indus-
try was the top commodity in
2016.
The Capital Press reported
that the greenhouse and nursery
industry leap-frogged the cattle
industry, which was Oregon’s
addressing the issues raised
in the report.
In a written statement Fri-
day, Ferguson said the U.S.
attorney general’s letter relies
on “incomplete, inaccurate
and out-of-date information”
about Washington’s mari-
juana regulations. He added
that “any action from the
Department of Justice short
of allowing our well-regu-
lated, voter-approved system
to continue is unacceptable.”
Low clouds and smoky
Smoky with low clouds
Low clouds and smoky
ALMANAC
Salem
60/98
Newport
52/64
New
Aug 14
First
Aug 21
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
8:52 a.m.
8:57 p.m.
Low
-0.9 ft.
1.7 ft.
Baker
49/92
Burns
53/91
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
91
93
67
93
68
84
96
95
64
67
Today
Lo
49
57
55
56
57
53
68
59
52
55
W
pc
pc
c
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
c
c
Hi
92
95
65
95
70
86
99
97
64
67
Tues.
Lo
48
57
56
57
57
54
70
61
53
56
W
t
r
sh
t
s
sh
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
t
pc
t
t
r
c
r
pc
t
pc
pc
r
Tues.
Hi Lo
79 69
73 62
82 62
77 55
84 61
82 60
94 72
73 54
88 76
80 60
79 63
104 82
86 67
86 69
92 81
84 65
89 77
79 65
84 68
82 63
84 63
88 68
73 59
90 64
82 64
W
pc
pc
c
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
c
c
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
89
98
92
95
95
71
94
94
92
102
Today
Lo
55
64
63
62
60
56
64
59
61
62
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
Hi
93
100
94
98
98
73
94
97
94
103
Tues.
Lo
56
64
64
64
61
57
66
59
63
65
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
t
pc
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
sh
pc
pc
pc
t
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
erson said there were com-
plaints stretching into last
year about Miehe play-
ing music too loud. When
offi cers responded to com-
plaints Thursday, Halver-
son said, Miehe broke a
body camera mount and
kicked one offi cer in the
groin. While being booked
into the Clatsop County
Jail, Miehe was found to be
in possession of a counter-
feit $100 bill.
Aug. 4, 2017
SIMONSEN, Colleen, 86,
of Hammond, died in Ham-
mond. Caldwell’s Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary in Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
Aug. 2, 2017
JOHNSON, Brittnay Ann,
27, of Seaside, died in Seaside.
Caldwell’s Funeral & Cre-
mation Arrangement Center
of Seaside is in charge of the
arrangements.
Lakeview
49/85
Ashland
67/97
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
La Grande
57/96
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
Tonight's Sky: The full moon will be at 11:11 a.m.,
just 14 days until the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21,
2017!
Today
Hi Lo
85 71
78 63
74 58
65 54
80 59
79 57
99 73
79 59
87 75
76 58
78 60
102 81
84 67
85 71
92 81
82 67
92 76
73 65
86 67
73 66
82 63
90 69
71 59
87 61
76 69
Aug. 5, 2017
PUGH,
Lester
L.,
85, of Clatskanie, died
in Longview, Washing-
ton. Ocean View Funeral
& Cremation Service of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
WING, Dennis John, 51,
of Knappa, died in Knappa.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton
Mortuary in Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
Ontario
62/97
Klamath Falls
53/86
Aggravated harassment
• On Thursday, Astoria
Police arrested Luke Tay-
lor Miehe, 44, near Kens-
ington and Skyline avenues
on charges of aggravated
harassment, assault of
a public service offi cer,
third-degree criminal mis-
chief, disorderly conduct,
second-degree possession
of a forgery instrument
and resisting arrest. Dep-
uty Police Chief Eric Halv-
brought in $909 million in
2016.
Meanwhile, Pokarney said
that the Oregon hops indus-
try saw a 99 percent increase
in production value from 2015
to 2016.
According to the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Oregon
produces more than 220 agricul-
ture and fi shery commodities.
LOTTERIES
DEATHS
Roseburg
62/98
Brookings
53/64
Aug 29
John Day
62/96
Bend
57/95
Medford
68/99
UNDER THE SKY
High
8.4 ft.
7.5 ft.
Prineville
53/97
Lebanon
62/97
Eugene
56/95
Sunset tonight ........................... 8:37 p.m.
Sunrise Tuesday .......................... 6:06 a.m. Coos Bay
Moonrise today .......................... 8:41 p.m. 56/69
Moonset today ............................ 6:00 a.m.
Last
Pendleton
64/100
The Dalles
68/104
Portland
63/94
SUN AND MOON
Time
2:00 a.m.
3:15 p.m.
Low clouds
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
56/73
Precipitation
Sunday ............................................. 0.00"
Month to date ................................... 0.00"
Normal month to date ....................... 0.14"
Year to date .................................... 49.67"
Normal year to date ........................ 37.08"
Aug 7
71
56
REGIONAL WEATHER
Tillamook
54/74
leader in production value the
year before. The ranking is part
of the recently released list of
the state’s top 20 commodities.
Bruce Pokarney, the
department’s director of com-
munications, said in a state-
ment on Friday that the nurs-
ery industry has historically
been number one. Green-
house and nursery products
ON THE RECORD
FRIDAY
72
56
Astoria through Sunday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 69°/55°
Normal high/low ........................... 68°/54°
Record high ............................ 92° in 1940
Record low ............................. 44° in 1959
Full
THURSDAY
72
55
56
Low clouds
WEDNESDAY
73
56
U-turn ahead
The new law has spurred a
campaign to ask the Legisla-
ture to reconsider the change.
More than 37,775 people have
signed a petition on Change.
org in support of removing the
secondary offenses from the
law.
Lawmakers have said the
goal was to reduce the number
of collisions. Distracted driv-
ing was a factor in crashes that
killed 3,459 people in 2015,
according to the Governors
Highway Safety Association.
That’s almost 10 percent of
all traffi c fatalities nationwide.
Researchers say electronic use
isn’t always reported to police
after a crash, so the actual
numbers could be higher.
In Washington state, there
were 12,399 accidents caused
by distracted drivers in 2015,
according to the annual state
collision summary. Of those
crashes, 895 were caused by a
driver who was using an elec-
tronic device.
The National Highway
Traffi c Safety Administra-
tion has found activities such
as dialing or texting while on
the road triples the risk of an
accident.
“Driving is the most dan-
gerous thing most of us do
on a daily basis,” Alexander
said. “We need to be paying
attention.”
Nursery industry top leader in ag production
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
“The cheeseburger didn’t
do anything,” she said.
Offi cers will consider the
“totality of circumstances,”
not just whether a driver was
eating, applying makeup or
holding a dog on their lap,
when deciding whether to
ticket them for a distraction,
Alexander said.
She and other offi cials
emphasized the law now pro-
hibits any activity not related
to driving that interferes with
safety.
“It’s about the effect on
driving — not what you can
and can’t do in a car,” Wash-
ington Traffi c Safety Com-
Washington State Patrol
Sgt. Brad Moon, who over-
sees six Naselle-based troop-
ers, said he plans to determine
whether a $99 ticket is war-
ranted by asking drivers if they
were distracted by doing other
things behind the wheel.
“Most people are honest,”
Moon said.
Troopers will focus on
educating the public about
the new law for the next six
months, he said. In most cases,
they’ll be giving drivers who
are stopped for using electron-
ics warnings, along with infor-
mation about the changes.
However, Moon said, if troop-
ers see egregious violations or
if a distracted driver causes a
collision, they’re likely to get
a ticket.
“We’ll try to be conserva-
tive but consistent,” he said.
“We’re primarily focusing on
things people are doing that
contribute to poor driving.”
However, not all law
enforcement authorities see the
new law the same way. Pacifi c
County Sheriff Scott Johnson
said he doesn’t expect the new
rules for distractions to change
much for his deputies.
“We won’t be bothering
people for that,” he said.
Johnson said existing law
gives them the authority to
ticket drivers who cause safety
issues because they were eat-
ing or drinking on the road
so including the distrac-
tions in the DUI-E law was
unnecessary.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Warrenton City Commission,
6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
TUESDAY
Cannon Beach City Council,
5:30 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Lewis & Clark Fire
Department Board, 7 p.m.,
main fi re station, 34571
Highway 101 Business.
OREGON
Sunday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 4-4-5-8
4 p.m.: 3-2-2-6
7 p.m.: 7-9-0-8
10 p.m.: 3-3-0-5
Saturday’s Megabucks: 7-24-
32-35-38-47
Estimated jackpot: $5.6 million
Saturday’s Powerball: 11-21-28-
33-45, Powerball: 11
Estimated jackpot: $307 million
Saturday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 6-2-5-1
4 p.m.: 8-9-5-6
7 p.m.: 6-7-3-9
10 p.m.: 4-6-3-1
Friday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 7-5-6-8
4 p.m.: 9-7-0-4
7 p.m.: 5-2-8-5
10 p.m.: 6-9-3-0
Friday’s Mega Millions: 9-17-25-
63-71, Mega Ball: 4
Estimated jackpot: $346 million
WASHINGTON
Sunday’s Daily Game: 6-5-9
Sunday’s Keno: 16-18-19-22-25-
30-31-32-37-47-51-59-60-62-64-
65-66-68-74-78
Sunday’s Match 4: 03-04-16-19
Saturday’s Daily Game: 6-9-4
Saturday’s Hit 5: 02-14-19-29-38
Estimated jackpot: $170,000
Saturday’s Keno: 04-09-12-14-
17-19-20-25-27-28-34-35-38-49-
55-65-72-73-76-79
Saturday’s Lotto: 07-13-23-26-
32-42
Estimated jackpot: $2.9 million
Saturday’s Match 4: 03-14-15-24
Friday’s Daily Game: 5-6-2
Friday’s Keno: 03-09-15-18-24-
25-29-30-37-42-44-53-64-65-66-
71-72-76-77-80
Friday’s Match 4: 07-18-21-23
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The Daily Astorian
Established July 1, 1873
(USPS 035-000)
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