Beginning January 1st, the Santa Monica Police Department will be initiating a safety campaign to decrease the number of traffic collisions in Santa Monica. Each month, they will focus on a different driving behavior.
In the month of January, the police department will target distracted drivers - those texting or talking on cell phones.
During the safety campaign, the Santa Monica Police Department will be targeting the following behaviors:
- Drunk driving
- Failure to properly stop at stop signs
- Failure to stop for pedestrians
- Illegal turns
- Speeding, especially on Pacific Coast Highway
Officers will additionally be on the look out for other distracted driving activities, including eating, reading, and applying makeup.
According to the National Safety Council, at least 28% of all car accidents invlove drivers using cell phones.
The Santa Monica Police Department has broken down what constitutes a cell phone violation:
- Holding a cell phone in the hand and using the speaker phone, or holding a cell phone to the ear.
- Juveniles cannot use cell phones at all while driving.
- Writing, sending or reading a text message.
- Scrolling for a name or telephone number or entering a telephone number does not constitute texting.