Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies are joining together
Tuesday in a campaign to curb cell phone use in cars.
Participating agencies, including the Gilroy Police Department,
California Highway Patrol and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s
Department, are stepping up their efforts to cite drivers who use
cell phones without a hands-free device.
Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies are joining together Tuesday in a campaign to curb cell phone use in cars.
Participating agencies, including the Gilroy Police Department, California Highway Patrol and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, are stepping up their efforts to cite drivers who use cell phones without a hands-free device.
During a similar two-day campaign last year, CHP offices throughout the Bay Area issued more than 550 citations, and one cell phone enforcement stop in Solano County led to the arrest of a driver for being under the influence. Law enforcement agencies in Santa Clara County issued more than 700 citations last year.
Inattentive drivers are one of the leading factors in accidents, and the use of cell phones contributes significantly to those problems, according to the California Highway Patrol.
In 2008, there were more than 30,000 parties in California involved in traffic collisions where inattention played a role, according to the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. More than 1,000 of those drivers identified a cell phone as the reason for inattention. Cell phones are the No. 1 identifiable inattention stated on collision reports, according to the CHP.
