Reminder: Fremont Police Plan Crack Down on Distracted Driving Thursday

FREMONT, CA - Put down that phone! No talking, texting or surfing -- or else.

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Fremont Police plan two “zero tolerance days,” April 7th and 20th, for maximum enforcement campaigns.

"Although the purpose of the campaign is not to write as many citations as possible, sometimes citations are necessary for drivers to understand the importance of focusing on their driving," the department warns.

Although such crashes are often difficult to prove, California had at least 84 fatal distracted driving collisions in 2013, 85 in 2014 and 67 in 2015, with the actual number of cases likely higher, according to FPD.

The most recent statistic for injuries in California due to distracted driving is 11,023 in 2015.

National Highway Traffic safety Administration (NHTSA) data for 2014 show nationwide, 3,179 people died in distracted driving collisions, which is 10 per cent of all crash fatalities. An additional 431,000 people, or 18 per cent, were injured in motor vehicle collisions involving distracted drivers.

“As we rely on our cell phones more and more in our everyday lives, we seem to be kidding ourselves in thinking that they don’t affect our driving,” said Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) Director Rhonda Craft. “Crashes are up. The scientific evidence is solid. The dangers are real, and they apply to all of us. We need to silence the distractions.”

The Department of Transportation notes that at any given moment, during daylight hours, more than 660,000 vehicles are being driven by someone using a hand-held cellphone.

WHAT IS DISTRACTED DRIVING?

Any distraction that endangers driver, passenger, and bystander safety:

• Texting
• Using a cellphone or smartphone
• Eating and drinking
• Talking to passengers
• Grooming
• Reading, including maps
• Using a navigation system
• Watching a video
• Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player