As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, Moreno Valley Police Department (MVPD) will be actively ticketing those texting or operating hand-held cell phones throughout the month of April. Drivers who break the law and place themselves and others in danger will be cited with no warnings. The current minimum ticket cost is $159, with subsequent tickets costing at least $279. Whether it’s a ticket or a crash, as the campaign theme states, “It’s Not Worth It!”

Distracted driving is a serious traffic safety concern that puts everyone on the road at risk. In recent years, hundreds have been killed and thousands seriously injured in California as a result of collisions that involved at least one driver who was distracted. Nationally, an estimated 3,331 died in 2011. This April will see over 225 local agencies plus the CHP conducting zero tolerance enforcements.

“We all know that talking on our cell phones while driving is distracting, but that doesn’t stop some people from continuing to do it,” said Moreno Valley Chief Ontiveros. “This effort is intended to educate our community about the dangers of cell phone use while driving. We hope that once people see the statistics and realize the danger involved, they will change their driving habits to help protect themselves, their families, and others on the road.”

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. 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.

To avoid a distracted driving ticket or crash, Moreno Valley offers drivers the following tips:

• Turn off your 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 when you think they may be driving