Distracted driving is a dangerous and illegal behavior. The Newport Beach Police Department is actively working to deter drivers from doing this.
On August 13, 2020, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., NBPD officers 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, 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 found nearly five 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.
It has become 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 reprogram 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.
In addition to the August 13 enforcement operation, the Newport Beach Police Department will hold their next distracted driving enforcement operation on August 30 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.
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.
If the NBPD and the Newport Beach Independent are truly interested in reducing the number of distracted drivers in Newport, why on earth does announcing these two dates in August ahead of time seem like a good idea? This is essentially a PSA to those very distracted drivers that are creating the problems in our society. Better to report (as in a newspaper reporter rather than community social worker) the results of the action rather than the planning of the action. The world is really very much upside down in so many ways from how it should be. This article basically gives locals a pass on suffering any corrective consequences that could otherwise have saved a life.