EVERETT — Dr. Beth Ebel has seen her share of distracted drivers — often after the fact.

By then, they’ve come through the Harborview Medical Center emergency room.

“I see these outcomes of bad crashes, whether they are cars that hit something or commonly I see a car that hits a pedestrian,” she said. “I know that in these crashes distraction is playing an increasing role.”

Often, there is an electronic device involved.

At any given moment, roughly 660,000 drivers across the country are using hand-held cellphones or manipulating electronic devices on roadways, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study.

Last year, the Washington State Patrol pulled over more than 18,000 people talking on cellphones and another 4,126 people texting — a small fraction of the overall use.

When the phone rings, “we have sort of trained ourselves to answer the bell,” said Ebel of Harborview’s Injury Prevention and Resource Center. “I see this as a very challenging problem.”

Ebel has closely studied cellphone use while driving in the state as well as national research.

Crackdowns, such as an emphasis patrol begun Friday and going through April 14, can reduce the risk of crashes, but it will take more than extra enforcement and the risk of a ticket to get distracted drivers to set aside their cellphones, Ebel said.

She believes there needs to be a change in public sentiment.

“With distracted driving we are where we were 20 years ago with drunken driving,” Ebel said.

There was a time the public attitude was to take the drunken driver home to sleep it off. That is no longer the case as punishment, enforcement and peer pressure all increased.

In both cases, drivers who’ve been drinking or are on cellphones are putting lives at risk and are making a selfish decision, she said.

Ebel pointed to studies that show texting while driving increases crash risk by 23 times, roughly the equivalent of a blood alcohol level of 0.19, which is more than twice the state’s legal limit.

She also has heard from middle school students who say their parents talk and text on cellphones while driving. It sends the wrong message, Ebel said. She compares it to a parent taking a giant puff on a cigarette, exhaling toward their child’s face and saying, “Never, never smoke.”

Safety experts say a cellphone presents a unique distraction to the thought process.

“Cellphones distract drivers differently than eating a hamburger or putting on make-up,” said Angie Ward, Washington Traffic Safety Commission program manager.

“Holding a phone in your hand takes your hand off the wheel,” she said. “Reading or entering data into your phone takes your eyes off the road. The biggest problem is that it takes your mind away from the tasks of driving.”

Trooper Heather Axtman, whose beat with the State Patrol includes much of Snohomish County, said drivers can expect a solid law enforcement presence during the two-week emphasis.

“We will be out in force,” she said.

Getting caught on a cellphone or texting while driving is a $124 fine under state law.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.