More than 100 motorists were cited in Chula Vista Monday for driving while using their cell phones, police confirmed.
The Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) conducted a 7-hour-long “Distracted Driver Operation” between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. As a result, 108 motorists were ticketed – 64 for using their cell phones while driving and 44 for texting behind the wheel.
Some drivers were also ticketed for speeding, violating traffic signals, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving with headphones in both ears. One person was arrested for reckless driving and another for possession of heroin, the CVPD said.
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Currently, there is a $161 fine for those caught using their phone while driving.
Monday’s operation was the second of five planned this month by the CVPD.
Last week, the department’s first operation yielded 110 citations of motorists who were either texting on talking on their cell phones while driving – or 78 percent of the 140 drivers stopped by police.
According to the National Safety Council, though 80 percent of driver think hands-free devices are safer than using a handheld phone, more than 30 studies show hand-free devices are no safer because the brain remains distracted by the conversation.
The California Office of Traffic Safety says 80 percent of all traffic collision involve distractions of some sort. These crashes claim the lives of nearly 3,000 people nationwide each year.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,154 people were killed on America’s highways in 2013 in distracted driving crashes.
The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) said there were more than 426,000 handheld cell phone and texting convictions in the state in 2013. More than 57,000 tickets were issued in April alone.
As a reminder, officials said distracted driving can be prevented by following these tips:
• Never text and drive
• Turn off your phone when you get behind the wheel
• Don't text or call someone when you know they are likely to be driving
• Make a pact with your family, spouse and caregivers never to use the phone with kids in the car
• No eating or drinking while driving
• Don't program your GPS, MP3 player or other devices while driving
• Pull over and stop to read maps
• No grooming
• No reading
• No watching videos
• If something falls to the floor, pull over before trying to reach it
