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Just to be clear: Beginning Tuesday it is against the law to talk on a hand-held cell phone while driving in Washington state.

Against the law. Not “only if” you are stopped for another offense and subsequently ticketed for illegal cell phone use. Against the law all of the time.

Unfortunately, it won’t be enforced all of the time — at least for now. Nor should we expect it to be observed all of the time, in part, because even blatantly breaking the law won’t necessarily result in punishment.

Drivers can be cited for using hand-held devices only if they have already been stopped by police for another reason. Still, that could result in a $124 ticket, at the officer’s discretion. (A related reminder: It is already illegal to text-message while driving in this state.)

Chatty drivers still have an option. Hands-free cell phones are allowed under the new state law that will take effect Tuesday. That’ll mean a nice little boost in business for the folks who sell those devices. Good for them. But that wasn’t the point of the law.

The law is intended to help ensure that a driver’s attention is where it should be: on the road ahead and the traffic all around. Five other states and the District of Columbia have already adopted bans on cell phone use while driving, as have many countries around the world. A few American cities have enacted cell phone bans in the absence of state action.

The rationale is convincing. Behavioral studies are unequivocal about the distracting nature of mobile phone conversations. A driver who is talking isn’t fully driving. That includes people using hands-free devices, some studies show, but the new law is a start.

It’s likely that some unpleasant exchanges will occur as the law’s staunchest advocates and its worst flouters encounter each other on the road. Let’s give the new law some time to sink in and take hold, and cut people a little slack in the meantime.

Most Washington residents recall that the seat-belt enforcement law first emerged as a secondary offense. Now “click it or ticket” is the law.

We hope that day is coming soon for the new cell phone usage law as well. Until then, we’ll all be safer if drivers keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the highway, even if their brain is semi-engaged elsewhere.

• Editorials reflect the consensus opinion of the editorial board and are written by its members: Publisher L. Stedem Wood, Editor Don Nelson and City Editor Dick Clever.