HomeMy WebLinkAbout14-03-27 Distracted Driving Month
BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Greg Williamson, Chief of Police
Contact: Sergeant Joe Grubbs
Public Information Officer
661-326-3803
jgrubbs@bakersfieldpd.us
For Immediate Release March 27, 2014
Bakersfield Police Department Joins Crackdown on Texting and
Handheld Cell Use Behind the Wheel
As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, the Bakersfield
Police Department will be joining with over 200 other local law enforcement agencies
and the California Highway Patrol in a month long “zero tolerance” enforcement and
education campaign to curb those texting or operating hand-held cell phones while
driving. Officers will be on alert throughout the month for those who break the cell phone
laws and place themselves and others in danger. Special high visibility enforcement
operations to cite cell phone violators will take place throughout the month of April
The increased enforcement and education aims to persuade drivers to recognize the
dangers of distracted driving and reduce the number of people impacted by this perilous
behavior. The “It’s Not Worth It!” theme emphasizes that a phone call or text isn’t worth
a hefty fine or a collision. The current minimum ticket cost is $161, with subsequent
tickets costing at least $281.
“We take the issue of distracted driving very seriously,” said Bakersfield Police
Department Chief Greg Williamson “because we see the aftermath of these totally
preventable crashes. Is that text message or cell phone call really worth $161, or worse,
someone’s life?”
Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious
enough to injure themselves. 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. According to research, sending or receiving a text takes a driver's
eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. Even a three second glance at
freeway speeds means a driver has traveled the distance of a football field.
Research shows that there is no difference in the risks between hands-free and hand-
held cell phone conversations, both of which can result in “inattention blindness” which
occurs when the brain isn’t seeing what is clearly visible because the drivers’ focus is on
the phone conversation and not on the road. When over one third of your brain’s
functioning that should be on your driving moves over to cell phone talking, you can
become a cell phone “zombie.”
You can now send an anonymous text message to the Bakersfield Police Department. It’s quick and it’s easy.
Simply enter 274637 into your phone and text BPDCRIMES along with your message. The text is sent to the
police department and the sender remains completely anonymous.
Tips can also be anonymously sent through the smartphone “TipSubmit” mobile App or via email at
https://www.tipsubmit.com.