Anonymous
Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
The Goleta Police Department is working to deter drivers from Distracted Driving which is a dangerous and illegal behavior. On Monday, March 4th, deputies will focus their efforts on drivers that are talking, texting, using an app or any other action on their phone that is not hands-free and violates California’s cell phone law. A violation is subject to a $162 fine for the first offense and at least $285 for a second offense.
Distracted driving comes in many forms, but cell phones remain the top distraction. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,450 people were killed in 2016 due to distracted drivers. A 2018 observational survey by Fresno State and the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) found nearly 5 percent of California drivers were using their phone illegally behind the wheel, either by talking on or using their phone without a hands-free device.
“Using the phone should be the las t thing a driver should be focused on,” said John Maxwell, Sergeant of the Goleta Traffic Unit. “That text, phone call, email, picture, video or social media post can wait. None of these things are worth risking your life and the lives of other drivers and passengers.”
In this day and age, it is natural instinct to answer the phone or read a text, but the focus for drivers should be on the road. Other distractions include eating, grooming, talking to passengers, using GPS, adjusting the radio, taking off a jacket, or reaching for an object on the floor.
If you have an important phone call or need to re-program your navigation system, pull over to a safe parking place. To resist the urge of using your phone, either silence it or put it somewhere you can’t reach.
Funding for this distracted driving enforcement operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration .
The City of Goleta contracts for its law enforcement services with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
kinda funny since you see cops on their cell phones while they drive
Not exactly a “sting” is it?
If they were truly serious about this issue, car makers would be required to put a device into the engine block or some other inaccessible place, that made all calls but 911 impossible until the motor was off. “Missed calls” would tell drivers who’d called when they were driving once their motors were off. Those who truly need instant immediate connection all the time–some docs/nurses, realtors, folks with critically wounded/dying people in the hospital, drug dealers–could carry pagers so they’d know to take the next off-ramp and check.