Union City Police Participating in National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Information provided by Union City Police—

As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, the Union City 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. The goal of this enforcement and education campaign is to curb those texting or operating hand-held cell phones while driving. 

Officers will be on alert for those who break cell phone laws and place themselves and others in danger. Special high visibility enforcement operations to cite cell phone violators will take place on various days throughout the month of April. 

This campaign 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 $161.00 with subsequent tickets costing at least $281.00. 

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times more likely to get into crashes resulting in serious injuries. 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. A 3 second glance at freeway speeds means a driver has traveled the approximate distance of a football field. 

[Related article: Bay Area Law Enforcement Cracking Down on 'Distracted…]

To avoid a distracted driving citation, the Union City Police Department offers driver’s the following tips: 
•Turn off you cell phone and/or put it out of reach while driving. 
•Include in your outgoing message that you can’t answer while you are driving. 
•Don’t call or text anyone at a time you think they may be driving.