Full Notification

Redwood City Calif. – April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Redwood City Police Department will be joining law enforcement agencies statewide stopping drivers who violate California’s hands-free cell phone law.

On April 4 and April 19, Redwood City Police Department will have additional officers on patrol looking specifically for drivers on their phones.

Last year Redwood City Police Department issued 1.204 citations to drivers’ texting, calling or performing another function on their phone. Distracted driving is dangerous, especially when it involves a cell phone. According to preliminary data from the California Highway Patrol (CHP), 66 people were killed and more than 6,500 injured in 2017 from distracted driving-related crashes.

“Cell phones remain one of the top distractions for drivers,” said Redwood City Police Department Chief of Police Dan Mulholland. “Texting or holding a cell phone in your hands while driving is a bad habit that is hard to break, but it's a habit that can have life-altering consequences.”

A 2018 observational survey by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) on driver cell phone use found about 4.5 percent of drivers are still using their cell phone illegally, a nearly 27 percent increase from 2016.

"Making a cell phone call or sending a text while driving is not worth risking your life or the life of someone else" said Chief Mulholland. "Safety on our roadways is a top priority and that's why our officers will be working hard to curb distracted driving."

Under the most recent cell phone law that went into effect in 2017, drivers are prohibited from having a phone in their hand for any reason and can only use their phone in a hands-free manner. The phones must be mounted on the dashboard, windshield or center console, and can only be touched once with the swipe or tap of a finger to activate or deactivate a function. First-time offenders face a $162 fine.

If you need to make a call or text someone, pull over and park at a safe location. Struggling to stay off the phone while driving? Put your phone in a place you can’t reach, like the backseat or trunk.

Funding for distracted driving enforcement operations are provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.