Cops To Target Cell Phone Use In Cars

Don't text or hold your cell phone in a moving car, especially in April, when San Leandro Police plan an aggressive ticketing campaign to call attention to Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

In April, the California Highway Patrol and 225 local police agencies, including San Leandro, will crack down on cell phone use and texting. Drivers who break the law and endanger themselves and others will be cited. The current minimum ticket costs $159, with subsequent tickets costing $279 or more.

"Cell phone use and texting while driving is such a serious concern that we are putting officers on the road to enforce zero tolerance," said San Leandro
Police Traffic Sergeant Mike Sobek. "Is that text message or cell phone call really worth $159?"

Authorities say distracted driving puts everyone on the road at risk. The National Safety Council estimates that one in four car crashes involve cell phone use.

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.

In addition, studies show that texting while driving can delay a driver's reaction time just as severely as having a blood alcohol content of a legally drunk driver.

Studies show that there is no difference in the risks between hands-free and
hand-held cell phone conversations, both of which can result in "inattention blindness" which occurs when the brain isn't seeing what is clearly visible because the drivers' focus is on the phone conversation and not on the road.

When over one third of your brain's functioning that should be on your driving moves over to cell phone talking, you can become a cell phone "zombie."

"Turn off your phone and put it out of reach as you get into the car," said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. "Think before you call or text someone.  If there is a chance they may be driving, let it wait. It's not worth it."

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