Drivers are using their cell phones less often while driving, 10 years after “hands-free” became the law, but distracted driving remains a serious safety challenge in California. In observing April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Inglewood Police Department is joining law enforcement statewide to step up enforcement along with awareness efforts by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) all designed to discourage distracted driving.
Officers are placing a special emphasis this month on enforcing all cell phone and distracted driving laws. The goal is to increase voluntary compliance by drivers, but sometimes citations are necessary for motorists to better understand the importance of driving distraction
Tomorrow is a designated enforcement date in which statewide law enforcement agencies will step up distracted driving enforcement activities. The California Department of Transportation will put distracted driving messages on the changeable message signs on freeways this month. Traffic officers have issued hundreds of thousands of citations over the past three years to those texting or calling on a hand-held cell phone. Recent legislation now makes it illegal to use your smartphone’s apps will driving. Still, everyone has seen other drivers on a device driving in a dangerous manner next to them during a commute or a trip around town.
Since 2011, OTS has conducted an observational study of handheld cell phone use every year. “This year’s study on the use of handheld cell phones and texting shows a decrease over past years; however, more work needs to be done to target those who were observed to still be breaking the law,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “The best way to put an end to distracted driving is to educate all Californians about the danger it poses. We will do this through enforcement and education efforts like our new advertising campaign “Just Drive”, reminding drivers to put down their phones and focus on the road.”
“California’s distracted driving laws have been saving lives for a decade now,” said former State Senator Joe Smitian, author of the state’s hand-free law. “Every day, somewhere in California, someone is sitting down to dinner with their family who wouldn’t have made it through the day without these laws on the books. That’s tremendously gratifying.”
Preliminary 2017 data also shows nearly 22,000 drivers were involved in distracted driving collisions in California, a decline from the more than 33,000 drivers involved in distracted driving collisions in 2007, the last full year before the hands-free law went into effect.
“Smart phones are part of everyone’s lives now. Texting, phone calls and posting on social media are nearly addicting,” said Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta. “But doing these things can have deadly consequences while driving on our city’s streets. Changing these dangerous habits will help make our roadways safer for everyone.”
