Area Cops to Crack Down on Cell Phone Chatters

Sacramento Law Enforcement Agencies plan a “Zero Tolerance” enforcement for motorist not utilizing a hands free device - Just Ask 3,600 motorist cited by EGPD

The first annual Sacramento region "zero tolerance" campaign, aimed at citing drivers who are distracted by cell phone chat or text, will be conducted throughout Sacramento region on August 10th and August 18th from midnight to midnight. 

The California Highway Patrol along with Sacramento Police Department, Elk Grove Police Department, West Sacramento Police Department, Roseville Police Department, Galt Police Department and Rancho Cordova Police Department are expected to participate. The campaign is designed to deter people from using their cell phones if they don't have a hands-free device or who are texting while driving. Far too many motorists are still not dialed-in to the rules and are either being cited for it or becoming a grim statistic.

 

Cell phones are the leading, identifiable, contributing factor to inattentive driver crashes in California. According to the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) data, since the inception of the hands-free law, there have been more than 1,200 collisions throughout the state, where a contributing factor was inattention by the driver due to cell phone usage. 

Those same collisions resulted in 16 fatalities and more than 850 victims injured.  The law, which went into effect July 1, 2008, prohibits the use of handheld cell phones by all motorists. In addition, it forbids anyone under the age of 18 from using any type of cell phone--handheld or hands free--while driving. Six months later, a ban on text messaging by drivers was put into effect.

 

Since the law’s inception in July 2008, Elk Grove officers have issued more than 3,600 citations to motorists who were in violation of the hands-free law.

 

Cell phone violations carry a minimum base fine of $20 for the first offense and $50 for the second. When court costs and other fees are added to the fines, the total cost of the violation quickly exceeds $100 for the first offense.