The California Highway Patrol and law enforcement agencies across the Bay Area are joining forces again today for a strict zero-tolerance campaign aimed at identifying and issuing citations to motorists talking or texting on cell phones while driving. This is a service, customer ( or violator if you like ) that will no doubt produce lots of stops and tickets.
Today, for the second time in two weeks, police throughout the region will crack down on drivers ignoring the hands-free law. A bill to increase fines has died in the Legislature.
Cell phone use is the leading identifiable source of distracted driving and inattention stated on collision reports in California, according to the CHP.
Other identified sources of distracted driving are applying makeup, using global positioning equipment, eating, drinking, changing music and reading.Police and the California Highway Patrol once again today will focus on drivers talking or texting on a cell phone that is not a hands-free device
Cell-phone violations carry a minimum fine of $20 for the first offense and $50 for the second. When court costs and other fees are added, the total can exceed $100 for a first offense, the CHP said.
Cell phones are the leading cause statewide of crashes by inattentive drivers, the CHP said. "It bothers me when I see someone changing lines in front of me without signaling and I see them talking on a cell phone," said Paul of Alameda. "It's like speeding, you can't catch all of them."
The problem is distraction because the driver's brain is trying to focus on something outside the vehicle that has nothing to do with driving. The danger will never go away until this fundamental reality is acknowledged, hands-free or not. Remember when the seat belt law went into effect over twenty years ago? How long did it take for drivers to buckle up?
The campaign to highlight distracted driving offenses will mirror a similar two-day enforcement effort last year, during which more than 700 cell phone citations were issued by law enforcement in Santa Clara County and more than 550 drivers were ticketed by CHP officers throughout the Bay Area.
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