El Cerrito, Kensington Police Join "Zero Tolerance" Crackdown on Texting While Driving

El Cerrito and Kensington police announced that beginning tomorrow, April 4, they are joining other law enforcement agencies in California in holding "zero tolerance days" for texting while driving.

The crackdown, which applies also to the hands-free requirement for cell phones while driving, is part of California’s first Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, police said.

Distracted driving, along with speeding and drunk driving, ranks among the leading causes of fatalities and serious injuries on the road, the police agencies said.

The first ticket for violating the texting or hands-free law costs at least $159, and subsequent tickets are $279.

The effort is being made in conjunction with the state Office of Traffic Safety's "It's Not Worth It" campaign. Joining the "zero tolerance" operation this month are more than 225 local police agencies and the California Highway Patrol.

"Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves," the police department announcements said. "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."

The Office of Traffic Safety's director, Christopher Murphy, offered a comparison to the early days of seat-belt law enforcement.

“It’s very difficult to resist the urge to check an incoming text or answer a cell phone call," he said in a statement. "That’s why we are stepping up enforcement and public awareness efforts. Convincing California drivers to wear seat belts 20 years ago wasn’t easy either, but in 2010 more than 96 percent buckled up and thousands of lives were saved.”

Police urged drivers to take these measures:

• Turn your phone off or put it out of reach before starting the car.
• Alert callers that you are unable to take calls when driving by changing your voicemail message.
• Make it a point not to call or text anyone who may be driving, such as during the commute to and from work or school, especially parents calling teen drivers.
• If you do need to make an important call or respond to a text message, pull over to a safe place to do so.
• If going cold turkey is too much of a stretch and you just can’t turn your phone off, consider using one of the available mobile phone apps that holds calls and incoming texts.