“City of Elk Grove promotes distracted driving awareness”

City of Elk Grove promotes distracted driving awareness

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 04:42 PM PST

Text messaging, phone calls and checking e-mails on the go is a normal part of daily life for many of Elk Grove's residents. But that behavior while driving is far too common and represents a public safety risk for Elk Grove motorists and pedestrians.

That's why the city of Elk Grove is promoting public awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.

This November, the city of Elk Grove is mailing all residents important and potentially life-saving information about the dangers of distracted driving. Residents will find a fact sheet with a safety reminder sticker in this month's utility bill. The sticker can be placed on a cell phone or dash board as a reminder to put the cell phone down while driving.

"Texting and driving is dangerous, and puts innocent lives at risk. The time has come to put an end to this widespread reckless behavior," Elk Grove Mayor Sophia Scherman said. "We should not wait for a tragedy to occur before people realize just how dangerous distracted driving can be. Please place the sticker in a visible place as a reminder to hang up and drive."

In September 2010, the League of California Cities adopted the city of Elk Grove's Enhancing Public Safety While Driving a Motor Vehicle Resolution, an effort to crack down on motorists who send electronic text messages while driving.

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.

Many studies recognize that using electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle is extremely dangerous:

• It is estimated that 28 percent of crashes – 1.6 million crashes per year – can be attributed to cell phone talking and texting while driving. (Source: National Safety Council)

• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

• Using a cell phone while driving delays a driver's reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)

For more information, visit www.elkgrovecity.org/community/dangers-of-texting.asp. If residents would like additional fact sheets with a reminder sticker, please contact Christine Brainerd at 916-478-3632 or cbrainerd@elkgrovecity.org.

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