Thread: CHP crackdown includes drivers who eat behind the wheel

CHP crackdown includes drivers who eat behind the wheel

December 29, 2011 | 7:56am

As part of a crackdown on distracted drivers, the California Highway Patrol is not just looking for people illegally talking or texting on their cellphones.

Officials also will be on the lookout for those who are eating while driving. And if you're reading magazines or applying makeup, they'll also be looking for you.

From 6 a.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday, the CHP is having a “zero tolerance” cellphone enforcement day.

Although there is no law saying someone can't eat while driving, a distracted driver is in violation of the law.

Under California’s vehicle code, a driver can be ticketed $145 to $1,000 for having “wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.” Officers will also be tracking these distractions and the number of distracted drivers, because there are not very good data on just how many distracted drivers there are.

Tickets for cellphone violations are $20 for the first offense and $50 for the second. But with court costs and other fees, the total cost of a ticket is more than $100.

Since California’s law requiring hands-free devices took effect in 2008, the CHP has written 518,161 citations statewide. They have written 11,634 tickets for texting while driving.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...d-drivers.html

CHP to Crack Down on NYE Distracted Drivers

Annual New Year's weekend enforcement look to expand goals

By Stephanie Stanton and Bill French
Thursday, Dec 29, 2011 | Updated 8:03 PM PST

The CHP says it will be looking for more than drunks over the holiday weekend. Eating, applying makeup, and of course texting are all on the crackdown menu

This year's New Year's weekend crackdown on drunk drivers will have an expanded focus. And it's not just texters who are being targeted. A cheeseburger might even get you a ticket.

"What we're looking for is drivers who are distracted, impaired, not properly restrained and drivers who are not adhering to the speed limit," says Officer Kevin Tao of the California Highway Patrol.

In Northern California, It's zero tolerance starting at 6 a.m. Friday. The CHP is cracking down on drivers who use hand-held cellphones or who text.

Here in Southern California, there will be a maximum enforcement period which runs from Friday through Monday. The CHP is adding extra patrols and setting up DUI checkpoints around Los Angeles, but they're not just looking for those drinking and driving.

"Various distractions," says Officer Tao. "They could be eating, reading, tuning the radio, applying makeup."

The CHP says distracted driving kills thousands of people each year.

"You could be eating, and if the officer considers that a distraction, then you're not focusing on the road," says Tao.

And he says keeping distracted drivers focused on the road is the first step in turning around the grim statistics and saving lives.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/lo...136407568.html