WORKING TOGETHER TO STOP DISTRACTED DRIVING
April is recognized as National Distracted Driving Awareness
Month. In California, the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), the Arcadia
Police Department, CHP, local law enforcement, and community partners
throughout the state are working together to make the roads safer by highlighting
the dangers of being distracted while driving, especially by cell phones.
“Law enforcement would rather see everyone off their cell
phones than hand out a lot of tickets,” said Rhonda Craft, director of the
Office of Traffic Safety. “Take care of calling, texting, setting your
GPS and everything else before you hit the street.”
Lawmakers agree that distracted driving continues to be a
growing problem among California’s motorists. Assembly Bill 1785 went
into effect on January 1, requiring all drivers in California to keep their
cell phone out of their hands while operating a motor vehicle. Under the
new law, a driver may activate or deactivate a feature or function of the cell
phone or wireless communication device by swiping or tapping its screen only if
it is properly mounted or not being held in a driver’s hand. Specific
information on the new law can be found at www.ots.ca.gov.
The Office of Traffic Safety will begin a new public awareness campaign throughout the state in April emphasizing how the new law
makes virtually all hand-held cell phone activity illegal – talking, texting,
and using apps The campaign aims to end distracted driving through education
and raise awareness about the associated dangers. The goal is to change
motorist behaviors and save lives, not just in the month of April but
year-round.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
reports that 3,477 people were killed and an estimated 391,000 injured in motor
vehicle collisions involving distracted drivers in 2015. That is a 9 percent
increase in fatalities as compared to the previous year.
The Arcadia Police Department will join other law
enforcement agencies throughout the state to provide educational experiences as
well as zero tolerance enforcement efforts to discourage distracted
driving. Officers will have a special emphasis this month on enforcing
all cell phone and distracted driving laws. The goal is to gain voluntary
compliance by drivers, but sometimes citations are necessary for motorists to
better understand the importance of driving distraction free.
Throughout the month of April, the Arcadia Police Department
will be deploying extra traffic officers, with grant-funded resources, for the
purpose of distracted driving enforcement. Violators will be stopped and cited
with fines set at $162 for first time offenders. This campaign is funded
by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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