Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Crack Down on Distracted Driving

If you engage in distracted driving around town, you better watch out.

Local traffic cops will be on the lookout during the entire month of April for illegal cell phone use and texting violations as part of the second annual Distracted Driving Awareness Month conducted along with hundreds of police and sheriff's departments in the state and the California Highway Patrol.

Local cops announced Monday they will have "zero tolerance" for violators beginning today, Tuesday, April 3.

The minimum cost of a ticket is $159, and subsequent tickets cost $279, police said.

Distracted driving is a serious traffic safety concern that puts everyone on the road at risk, joining speeding and alcohol as leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes, police said.

"Our officers take distracted driving very seriously," said Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Capt. David Gravel. "You have to ask yourself if that text message or cell phone call really is worth the $159 ticket or potentially causing an accident."

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times more likely to be involved in an injury accident and inexperienced drivers under 20 years of age have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes, police said.

Studies also show that texting while driving can delay a driver's reaction time just as severely as having a blood alcohol content of a drunk driver.

"Chanding the dangerous, illegal habit of using hand-held cell phones or texting while driving isn't easy," said Office of Traffic Safety Director Christopher J. Murphy. "But recent studies show that California's cell and texting laws have made a big difference—cutting deaths by nearly half, but half is not enough."

Safety Tips from the California Office of Traffic Safety

• Turn off your phone or put it out of reach before starting the car.

• Alert callers that you are unable to take calls when driving by changing your voicemail message.

• Make it a point not to call or text anyone who may be driving, such as during the commute to and from work or school, especially parents calling teen drivers.

• If you do need to make an important call or respond to a text message, pull over to a safe place to do so.

• If going cold turkey is too much of a stretch and you just can’t turn off your phone, consider using one of the available mobile phone apps that holds calls and incoming texts.