Razmik Stepanyan

Instrcutor: Mahta Rosenfeld

Distraction Laws in California

In 2016, a survey showed that more than 54% of Californians have been hit or nearly got in

accident because of a distracted driver. California distracted driving laws prohibit all use of all

hand-held devices while driving. Statistics indicate that accidents caused by distracted drivers

have now surpassed the number of accidents caused by drunk driving. Distracted drivers are

rapidly becoming the leading cause of automobile accidents in California. Data from the

California Department of Motor Vehicle shows that there were 14 fatal car crashes last year

cause of drivers were texting or using hand-held cellphone. Cell phone use while driving has

increased dramatically and most of us will admit of using cellphones while driving; moreover,

looking drivers looking their devices can lead to fatal car crashes by leaving innocent souls

behind.

In California using a hand-held device is primary offense-meaning a police officer can pull a

driver over for violation and, and give a ticket; moreover, using a hand-free device while driving

is secondary offense. To begin with, one way to make drivers to pay attention to the road not

their devices are driving tickets. There are a lot of people who wont agree with me because

they believe that California distracted laws arent effective; however, distracted driving tickets

arent cheap tickets, the base fine is $120, and the penalty is $160 for first offense and for the

second offense it is $279. I totally agree with the ticket fines because if the drivers are in a

budget they will follow the distracted driving laws to ease their financial expenses; moreover,
the insurance rates bust up as the drivers get distracted driving points in their driving record.

The NHTSA reports that 16% of all fatal automobile crashes and 21% of all automobile crashes

causing injury are the result of distracted driving. There are a lot of cars in Los Angeles which

means its a traffic heavy city this leads much higher rate of accidents due to distracted drivers.

The new distracted driving laws prohibit driving while carrying a cellphone in hand; however,

the drivers may still use their cellphones legally when it is in the hands-free mode. For example,

drivers can use voice commands or they are allowed to top once on the display or swipe the

screen to activate or deselect a smartphone feature.

California law prohibits school buses and transit drivers use any kind of devices while driving

whether it is hand-free or hand-held. School bus drivers arent allowed to use any kind of

device because the chances are higher of deadly car crashes; moreover, the old school buses

are really hard to control in a normal day and imagine what will happen if the bus driver

decides to text while taking students to school or a field trip. Bus and transit drivers who violate

the cell phone law are guilty in crime. The offense counts as an one point in the driving record

with a minimum $250 fine.(California driving laws,dmv.com) According to a new California

court ruling, drivers can no longer check their GPS apps while driving. The court explains its

ruling by pointing out that the distraction is still present regardless of what driver are using the

phone for while holding it. Therefore, drivers must find another method of reaching their

destination than staring down at their smartphone. According to the 2013 Traffic Safety Culture

Index, 83 percent of motorists rated texting while driving and 58 percent rated cell phone use

very serious threats to their safety, yet many admitted performing these distracting behaviors

while driving within the previous month. Further, 88 percent of respondents said that
 distracted drivers were somewhat or a much bigger problem

today than they were just three years ago.

The laws prohibit any driver under the age of 18 using any

kind of devices at all while driving: such as GPS, Bluetooth,

speaker, or any other devices. According to the Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than half of

teen drivers reported using a cellphone while driving and more than one in four reported typing

or sending a text message while driving in the past 30 days.(Teen Driver Distraction, California,

teendriving,aaa.com/CA) it also important to note that looking at your phone while driving is

also offense. Whether driver using google maps or GPS the cell phone should be away to not

get drivers attention from the road. The best way is just to pack away the cell phone and

totally pay attention to the road. Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a

text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, thats like driving the length of an

entire football field with your eyes closed.

A recent study found that California new law reduced the number deaths attributed to

texting and using cell phone for about 47% and injuries from deadly car crashes decreased

approximately 49%. To reduce fatal car crashes in California and to enforce the law April is the

"Distracted Driver Awareness Month"250 police departments and 100 CHP officers established

zero tolerance policy for the entire month. Report shows that d

The high rates of cell phone use has been examined in naturalistic studies that continuously

videotape drivers and monitor their driving. Klauer, Dingus, Neale, collected 1 year of data from

109 drivers and found that the risk of a-fault crash or near-crash was 1.3 times as high when
drivers were talking on hand-held phones and 2.8 times as high when drivers were dialing

compared with just driving; the latter difference was significant deadly accidents are 7% lower

than the month before Todays study confirms California Highway Patrol data from the first

year of the hands-free laws implementation, which showed a 20 percent reduction in fatalities

and collisions in California compared to the annual average over the previous three to five

years.( Research Confirms Effectiveness of Californias Distracted Driving Laws | State Senator

Joe Simitian. State Senator Joe Simitian - 11th District - California,

www.senatorsimitian.com/entry) Many cars now offer voice command technology to help

drivers make a phone call or enter directions for their destination. While this technology may

keep drivers in compliance with the hands free law, they may still need to use your common

sense when it comes to how distracted they really are while driving. For many, distracted

driving still exists. Therefore, drivers need to self monitor themselves and put the technology

away when they feel their focus drifting. Drivers can always pull over to take that call or confirm

the correct address.

Well-enforced traffic laws have been a highly effective in California for reducing risky driving

behaviors and the associated crashes, deaths, and injuries. Its obvious and clear the most of us

use some kind of devices while driving but it leads to fatal car crashes; therefore, drivers need

to think twice when pulling their cellphones while on the road. Studies showed that after

distraction bans fatalities reduced as low as from75,000 to 100,000 each year in California. Cell

phones take your eyes and mind off the road, or your hands off the steering wheel. It is so

common that a lot of people dont even think about how risky it is to read a text or in worst

cases to answer one.