KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Law enforcement agencies are stepping up citations for texting and other distractions behind the wheel in April for National Distracted Driving Awareness Month in the Santa Clarita Valley and beyond.
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The Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol (CHP) 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 use a cell phone by swiping or tapping its screen only if it is properly mounted or not being held in a driver’s hand.
KHTS interviewed CHP officer Josh Greengard before the law went into effect in January to show drivers what they can and cannot do behind the wheel.
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 Los Angeles County Sheriff’s 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 throughout the month of April 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, according to officials.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is deploying extra traffic officers with grant-funded resources throughout the month in city locations with higher numbers of traffic collisions.
Violators will be stopped and cited with fines set at $162 for first-time offenders, officials said.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I ride a motorcycle. Too many drivers are distracted. I’m constantly looking for them in an attempt to stay clear. When you really take notice, the number of distracted drivers is overwhelming.
I hope this goes beyond the month of April.
This should be done everyday, everyday you can count more fingers in your hands the amount of drivers who are playing with their phones and are swerving all over the roads. Selfish people all over this town and state, with no regard for others safety.