Police to Crack Down on Distracted Drivers

Distracted drivers: over 1 million deaths per year nationally

Trying to stem an overwhelming number of crashes attributed to distracted driving, police plan a blitz of California freeways in April to ticket motorists caught using their phones while driving.

Hundreds of police agencies across the state are planning a crackdown on the five-year anniversary of a law that was put into place to help stem the problem. The push is happening during Distracted Driver Awareness Month.

“Studies show that 90 percent of drivers think they can drive better than everyone else -- everyone thinks they’re special,” said Chris Cochran, spokesman for the California Office of Traffic Safety, which tracks roadway statistics.

The effort is a way for law enforcement to try and curb the 1.3 million crashes that occur nationally every year that are blamed on distracted driving, according to National Safety Council, non-profit that works to prevent crashes involving distracted driving.

In California, police issue hundreds of thousands of tickets for distracted driving every year -- over 400,000 alone in 2012. That's a 31 percent jump over 2009, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.

The number of tickets issued for texting alone in the state jumped sevenfold, from nearly 3,000 in 2008 to over 21,000 in 2012.

Cochran shared the excuses drivers give when pulled over for texting and driving.

“A lot of people will use the ‘prayer while driving’ excuse,” Cochran said. Some people, he added, say "I was checking out my shoelaces.”

New cell phone laws took effect July 1, 2008 in California. They said drivers age 18 and over may use hands-free devices while driving. Drivers under the age of 18 may not use any type of hand-held or hands-free wireless phone while driving, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

That year, police began ticketing motorists for texting while driving.

Despite the intent of the to discourage the practice, the number of tickets that police have issued has doubled every year since, according to the state's Office of Traffic Safety.

At least two bills are making their way through the state legislature that are designed to strengthen the penalties for distracted driving.

The penalty for a first offense for texting and driving is $159. A motorist caught a second time can face a $279 fine.

A driver who's caught breaking the law more than twice will not lose his driver's license.

Some companies are stepping up to try to further restrict the temptation to multitask while driving.

A North Carolina-based company recently created a “Dock-N-Lock” system that would only allow the vehicle to start when a mobile phone is docked into the dashboard.

The company plans to roll out the system in June.

Cochran hopes California's crackdown gets the message out that driving while distracted is dangerous.

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