City of Irvine

Irvine, Calif. (April 12, 2017) – The Irvine Police Department (IPD) has released a video as part of its efforts to spread the word about National Districted Driving Awareness Month. The video, baring the slogan “Distracted Driving: It’s Not Worth It,” portrays the consequences of using a cellphone while driving. The video was released on IPD’s social media platforms and can be seen at http://bit.do/distracteddriving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 3,477 people were killed and an estimated 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle collisions involving distracted drivers in 2015. That is a 9 percent increase in fatalities compared to the previous year. On Jan. 1, a new California law went into effect requiring all drivers to keep their cellphones out of their hands while operating a motor vehicle. Under the new law, a driver may activate or deactivate a feature or function of the cellphone or wireless communication device by swiping or tapping its screen only if it is properly mounted or not being held in a driver’s hand. Specific information on the new law can be found on the Office of Traffic Safety website, ots.ca.gov. The Irvine Police Department will join other law enforcement agencies throughout the state in April to provide educational experiences as well as zero tolerance enforcement efforts to discourage distracted driving. Officers will have a special emphasis this month on enforcing all cellphone and distracted driving laws. The Irvine Police Department is deploying extra traffic officers with grant-funded resources throughout the month in City locations with higher numbers of traffic collisions. Violators will be stopped and cited with fines set at $162 for first-time offenders. This campaign is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.