Courtesy City of Eastvale
Eastvale, CA. – As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, the Eastvale Police Department has Distracted Driving Month joined with over 200 other local law enforcement agencies and the California Highway Patrol in a month long “zero tolerance” enforcement and education campaign to curb those texting or operating hand-held cell phones while driving. The Eastvale Police Department conducted a special high visibility enforcement operation to cite cell phone violators in the area of Roosevelt High School, River Heights Intermediate School and Harada Elementary School.
As a direct result of the operation, 34 drivers were cited for various unsafe driving conducts. The violations cited included cell phone violations, crosswalk right of way violations and seatbelt violations. One vehicle was stored during the operation.
The increased enforcement and education aims to persuade drivers to recognize the dangers of distracted driving and reduce the number of people impacted by this perilous behavior. The “It’s Not Worth It!” theme emphasizes that a phone call or text isn’t worth a hefty fine or a collision. The current minimum ticket cost is $161, with subsequent tickets costing at least $281.
“We take the issue of distracted driving very seriously,” said Eastvale Police Lt. Mike Yates, “because we see the aftermath of these totally preventable crashes. Is that text message or cell phone call really worth $161, or worse, someone’s life?”
Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. In addition, studies show that texting while driving can delay a driver’s reaction time just as severely as having a blood alcohol content of a legally drunk driver. According to research, sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. Even a three second glance at freeway speeds means a driver has traveled the distance of a football field.
Research shows that there is no difference in the risks between hands-free and hand-held cell phone conversations, both of which can result in “inattention blindness” which occurs when the brain isn’t seeing what is clearly visible because the drivers’ focus is on the phone conversation and not on the road. When over one third of your brain’s functioning that should be on your driving moves over to cell phone talking, you can become a cell phone “zombie.”
Join the City of Eastvale in our support for the “It’s Not Worth it Campaign!” Cell phones, texting. It’s not worth it. It’s just that simple.
Resources from the California Office of Traffic Safety: http://ots.ca.gov/Media_and_Research/Campaigns/Distracted_Driving.asp
