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You were more likely to get a warning than a ticket if you were recently stopped for violating the state’s new cell phone law in Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan and Snohomish counties, according to statistics released by the Washington State Patrol.

State troopers issued 27 warnings and seven tickets in that five-county area between July 1 — when the law prohibiting anything but hands-free cell phone use while driving went into effect — and July 15.

Statewide, troopers issued 182 warnings and 113 tickets during that period.

The new law makes driving while talking on a handheld cell phone a secondary offense, meaning that the driver can’t be issued a warning or a $124 ticket unless they are stopped for another driving violation. Hands-free devices are legal.

Drivers were much more likely to be issued tickets in other parts of the state such as Thurston and Pierce counties and southeastern Washington. But in the central part of the state, no tickets and 13 warnings were issued over a vast five-county area.