Heads Up: 'Distracted-Driving Awareness Month' Nears In CA

MARIN COUNTY, CA – April is "Distracted-Driving Awareness Month," a monthlong campaign to remind motorists to "silence" the distraction from their cell phones.

Local law enforcement agencies statewide will be stopping drivers who violate California’s hands-free cell-phone law with patrols looking specifically for drivers on their phones.

Data from the California Highway Patrol reports 66 people were killed and more than 6,500 injured in 2017 from distracted-driving-related crashes.

"Cell phones remain one of the top distractions for drivers," according to the Novato Police Department. "Like any bad habit, it can be hard to break, but this habit can have life-altering consequences. That text or phone call will never be worth losing a life over. That is why curbing distracted driving is high on our priority list."

A 2018 survey by the California Office of Traffic Safety on driver cell-phone use found about 4.5 percent of drivers still use their cell phone illegally, a nearly 27 percent increase from 2016.

Since the state's cell-phone law went into effect in 2017, drivers are prohibited from having a phone in their hands for any reason and can only use phones in a hands-free manner, officials said, meaning that the phones must be mounted on dashboards, windshields or center consoles, and can only be touched once with the swipe or tap of a finger.

First-time offenders could face a $162 fine, according to law enforcement.

Law agencies also remind drivers that if they need to make a call or text someone, they should pull over and park at a safe location. And for motorists struggling to stay off phones while driving, stash the phones in a unreachable place, like the backseat or trunk.

Funding for distracted-driving enforcement operations are provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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