Iowa police are on the lookout for drivers who send text messages behind the wheel. So far, the effort is all thumbs. 
 
 Instead of tickets, police are giving texting drivers colorful bands to wear on their thumbs that say: "TXTNG KILLS." 
 
 View Full Image Iowa Department of Public Safety A 'TXTNG KILLS' thumb band being handed out by Iowa police. 
 
 The bands are part of a statewide campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of texting while driving under a new law prohibiting the practice that took effect July 1. For the first year, police can give scofflaws warnings only. Next year, fines will kick in. 
 
 Deputy Craig LaKose of the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Department in northern Iowa was given half a dozen of the bands in blue, black and bright pink at the beginning of October, but has yet to catch anyone in the act. 
 
 "It's hard to grab somebody when you're in a marked squad car," he said. "In your own personal car, you can see it going down the road—how many people are doing it." 
 
 Courtney Greene, spokeswoman for Iowa's Department of Public Safety, said even state police have trouble catching texters in the act. After a few stops, she said, "the kids text out, 'Watch out, put your phones down.' " 
 
 The state ordered 30,000 of the bands and plans to order another 30,000. State employees have been distributing them at events such as the Iowa State Fair, high-school football games and the Iowa-Iowa State college football game. 
 
 "A lot of people want them for their kids," Ms. Greene said. "It's a fun way to get across a serious message about not texting and driving." 
 
 Several national groups are handing out similar thumb bands, including insurance giant Allstate Corp., whose "X the TXT" campaign has persuaded more than 100,000 people to pledge to stop texting while driving since last November. 
 
 Thirty states ban texting while driving, including 11 that enacted laws this year, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. 
 
 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that in 2008 nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving some type of distracted driving, including cellphone use and texting. In Iowa, 16 people have died in accidents involving cellphones since 2001. 
 
 Sheriff Kevin Pals in Cerro Gordo County, population 47,000, said he received about 150 of the bands, which he gave to his deputies to hand out during traffic stops or to anyone who asks for one. 
 
 "I got a call from a woman in Des Moines who wanted them for her nieces and nephews," he said. "I'm optimistic they'll go fast." 
 
 Write to Joe Barrett at joseph.barrett@wsj.com ||||| traffic Iowa’s New Anti-Texting Thumb Bands Misunderstand How Teenagers Work 
 
 To stop residents from driving while texting, Iowa police have basically created the next Silly Bandz. As part of its "X the TXT" campaign, the state has ordered 30,000 thumb bands in black, blue, and bright pink with words "TXTING KILLS," giving them away at the Iowa State Fair and high school football games. Hey, take a picture of me driving with this thing on so I can tweet that shit. Seriously, have you ever seen a kid in a D.A.R.E. shirt that wasn't stoned? [WSJ] ||||| CLOSE Washington state drivers will have put down their cellphones, coffee and mascara. USA TODAY 
 
 File photo (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto) 
 
 Drivers in Washington state will have put down their cellphones, under a law that went into effect Sunday. And coffee. And mascara. 
 
 The state's new law to discourage distracted driving closes loopholes against making calls by prohibiting even holding a personal electronic device while stopped in traffic. The law also prohibits eating or applying make-up while driving. 
 
 The Governors Highway Safety Association called the law a pioneering effort to combat distracted driving, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said was involved in more than 3,000 deaths in 2014. 
 
 “Washington State was first state to pass a texting ban a decade ago, and they are leading the way again with this strengthened law, which has the potential to be a game changer and serve as a model for other states,” Kara Macek, a spokeswoman for the governors association. 
 
 The change comes too late for Michael Nicknovich, whose girlfriend died last year when her car was hit by a distracted driver along Interstate 5 near Chehalis, Wash. Jody Bagnariol, 63, and her passenger, Elisabeth Rudolf, 50, died in the crash when another driver on the highway posed for a photo taken by her passenger. 
 
 "Two lives are lost because another woman was taking selfies at 76 mph on cruise control," Nickinovich said. 
 
 Fourteen states and the District of Columbia ban the use of hand-held phones while driving, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. And 44 states and D.C. ban texting while driving. 
 
 But none ban the use of hands-free devices entirely. 
 
 The Washington State law makes it illegal for a driver to hold an electronic device in even when stopped at an intersection or in traffic, which closes loopholes in other state laws. Fines start at $136 for the first offense and $234 for the second, and will be reported to the driver’s insurance company and will appear on the driver’s record. 
 
 Drivers were distracted in crashes that killed 3,179 people in 2014, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Distractions such as dialing or texting tripled the risk of a crash, according to NHTSA. 
 
 The National Transportation Safety Board has named distracted driving as one of the 10 most important safety issues to remedy, after finding personal electronics caused or contributed to 11 accidents that killed 50 people and injured 259 since 2003. But NTSB doesn’t investigate many highway accidents. 
 
 Distractions are growing. Nearly 30% of drivers surveyed in 2015 admitted accessing the internet while driving, according to a State Farm survey, compared to just 13% in 2009. 
 
 "We had a lot of issues with Pokemon Go, people checking their email and GPS," said Bremerton Police Officer Steven Forbragd, who pulled over to answer a call from a Kitsap Sun reporter. "Now everything will be hands free." 
 
 A 2015 Washington Traffic Safety Commission study found that 1 in 10 drivers were distracted in some way while on the road, and that 70 percent of those observed were using their phone. 
 
 "We have a lot of rear-end collisions that have a lot to do with people looking down to see a text," he said. 
 
 Other provisions in the Washington law bar eating, putting on make-up and shaving, which can cause a car to drift across lanes in traffic. These secondary offenses carry $99 fines, which may still not be enough to deter some motorists. 
 
 "I still do my hair while I'm driving, but only because you hear about being getting hurt from texting and driving," Zach Kostick, 19, of Port Orchard, who sports a man-bun, told the Kitsap Sun. "You never really hear about people getting into accidents for doing their hair." 
 
 Holding a phone to call 911 or emergency services will remain legal in Washington. Although the law prohibits "holding a personal electronic device in either hand or both hands" to use a device, it does allow "the minimal use of a finger to activate, deactivate, or initiate a function of the device." 
 
 "Before this law, the only things people could get a ticket for were texting and holding the phone up to their ear," Trooper Russ Winger of the Washington State Patrol told the Kitsap Sun. "Now we can pull someone over for having any electronics in their hand." 
 
 Troopers will pull over any driver seen holding their phone. But for the first six months the new law is in place, troopers will not issue tickets for distracted driving, giving drivers time to adjust, Winger said. 
 
 "I believe this law will change drivers' behaviors because now they have consequences for their actions, with the monetary fine and ticket potentially increasing their insurance rates," he said. 
 
 Angie Ward, a program manager for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, is skeptical that the new law will change everyone's driving habits, but said it's a start. 
 
 "We know this rule won't magically change things," Ward told the Kitsap Sun. "If we can decrease fatalities even 1 or 2%, that will make all of this worth it." 
 
 Contributing: Kitsap Sun. 
 
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– Iowa drivers caught texting while driving under a new law aren't getting tickets. Instead, police are handing out brightly colored thumb bracelets that bear the phrase TXTING KILLS, reports the Wall Street Journal. The idea is to raise awareness, with fines kicking in next year. State employees are also distributing the bracelets at fairs and football games. So far, authorities say they're not having much luck catching drivers in the act. Once a few stops are made, "the kids text out, 'Watch out, put your phones down,'" says a spokesman for the Public Safety office. The Daily Intel blog at New York magazine is a wee bit skeptical of the bracelet approach. "Seriously, have you ever seen a kid in a DARE shirt that wasn't stoned?"