Police Launch Distracted Driver Campaign

SAN BERNARDINO>> With April being National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the San Bernardino Police Department and local law enforcement are beginning a public awareness campaign to enforce the recent laws of distracted driving. Distracted driving involves any hands-on or eyes-away habits such as texting, phone calls, plugging in addresses to GPS and selecting music on devices. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of injuries and fatalities caused by distracted driving in motorists is up 9% from previous years. “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 aims for this public awareness campaign, in which law enforcement officials and CHP will be emphasizing the importance of distraction-free driving by implementing more stops for hopeful cooperation amongst citizens, will maintain awareness, even if citations are necessary. The goal is to change motorist's behaviors and save lives, not just in the month of April but year-round. 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.