Last month was Distracted Driving Awareness Month and to commemorate the occasion officers handed out a record number of tickets to distracted drivers in California. Altogether law enforcement agencies handed out 57,000 tickets for trying to text or talk on their cell phones last month. more ›

We love our smartphones in California, and as the findings of a just-released study indicate, we love using them while we're behind the wheel more now than previously. more ›

She was busted by a tipster, and the cops, but now 29-year-old Shawndeeia Bowen says she is "not guilty" of texting while driving with a baby on her lap. Bonus: She was driving on a suspended license! more ›

It appears as though one local woman holds National Distracted Driving Awareness Month in utter contempt. more ›

Authorities say that a pedestrian who was struck by a big rig on Tuesday was texting at the time that was struck. more ›

The guy who made up that rap about the Whole Foods parking lot has a new message for you: just put down the phone. He doesn't want to hear about your clean bill of health from the STD clinic or get stuck behind you texting in line at Huckleberry when all he wants is a friggin maple bacon biscuit. more ›

A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that texting while driving has only increased as states roll out laws meant to crack down on it. more ›

A warning to all those for whom the temptation to let their fingers do the talking while driving is impossible to resist: If Governor Jerry Brown signs SB 28 into law, failing to go hands free while you're at the wheel could soon cost you more than twice as much in fines. Bonus: The bill extends the ban on illegal cellphone use while you're in charge of two wheels. more ›

While we can leave the future of foreskin up to city government (thanks San Francisco and Santa Monica), it appears that what our children can and cannot do with their mobile devices while in class will be determined not on a case-by-case basis or by school principals but in Sacramento -- by the California State Legislature. more ›

This month, law officials in the Inland Empire are cracking down on distracted driving, reports KABC. California Highway Patrol will be assigning teams of officers to focus specifically on drivers who are otherwise occupied while behind the wheel this Monday and Tuesday, and will do the same thing on April 19 and 20. If caught, drivers will be fined a minimum of $160. more ›

A crack-down on the epidemic of distracted driving in Glendale has led to "more than 60 drivers busted for using hand-held phones while behind the wheel," notes the Glendale News-Press. On Saturday officers blew the whistle, literally, on vehicles exiting the Ventura (134) Freeway on the South Glendale Avenue off-ramp... more ›

10% of drivers in Glendale engage in distracting and illegal activities according to a survey conducted by the Glendale Police Department, reports the News-Press. Posting a plainclothes police officer at the corner of Brand Boulevard and California Avenue this past Wednesday, Glendale officials found as many as a dozen motorists improperly using their cell phones in the span of just one minute. more ›

They warned you on Twitter and it starts today. The California Highway Patrol, along with other agencies across Los Angeles County, today are taking a zero-tolerance approach to the state's hands-free mobile laws. You cannot text while driving (basically) or hold a phone to your ear. more ›

With the federal government calling distracted driving an "epidemic" -- and for good reason, 16% of U.S. roadway deaths in 2009 were thanks to distracted driving -- and one study concluding that texting while driving is up, several policing agencies in Los Angeles County will be keeping a watchful eye on where drivers are looking on Tuesday. "You've been warned," tweeted the California Highway Patrol's Southern Division about a "County-wide, multi-agency, Zero-tolerance enforcement day against distracted drivers coming Oct 5." more ›

For the second year in a row, national statistics show that distracted driving had led to 5,474 deaths and 448,000 injuries on U.S. roads in 2009. That represents 16% of traffic fatalities across the country, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced today (.pdf). more ›

Since California's no texting while driving law went into effect 19 months ago, texting and use of smart phones has just about doubled, finds a study conducted by The Auto Club. The membership organization found that 2.7% of drivers at anytime are breaking the law. The same study conducted earlier this year found that 1.1% of drivers were texting. more ›

Plastic surgeon to the stars, Dr. Frank Ryan, lost his life Monday in an accident on PCH in Ventura County when his Jeep Wrangler went off the road and down a rocky embankment. Ryan, whose clientele includes the oft-altered Heidi Montag, had just climbed a sandy dune overlooking Malibu with his border collie, Jill. The doctor had used Twitter and TwitPic to send out messages about his adventure shortly before the crash. more ›

Teens may not be the only ones driving recklessly. A recent study showed that adults are much more likely to talk on the phone while driving and they text just as much as teens do at the wheel. more ›

With each new iPhone application or technological advancement, new questions emerge regarding legality of using such devices in the car. A common habit, for example, is to use Google Maps while driving as a primary source of directions. But are drivers doing it legally? more ›

It's against the law for people to communicate via text message on their cellphones while operating a motor vehicle, and now not only will the fines for drivers be doubles, but also cyclists are about to be subject to the same law, according to abc7. more ›

He might not have to worry about himself, but Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants to make sure Angelenos don't break the law when it comes to their cellphones. Yesterday at a news conference, Villaraigosa voiced his support for the movement to make sure drivers don't send text messages while they're behind the wheel, reports the Daily News. more ›

Over the past two years, the Automobile Club of Southern California has conducted a handful of studies before and after the texting-while-driving law went into affect, finding that texting dropped 70%, from 1.4% of motorists to 0.5%. But their latest study, conducted over the last month, finds that texting is on the rise again, more than doubling to 1.1%. more ›

Looks like Metro is beginning to the explore the possibility for that. It started in September when a member of the public requested such a service, which was followed up by up Metro's chairperson. Now that some security concerns have been addressed, the transit agency is taking the necessary steps to see this through. It's pretty loud down there when the train is in motion, but this will be nice for texting. more ›

As Southern California's major parade of the year approaches, Tournament of the Roses officials have launched a new feature in which people can text questions through Thursday for an answer. "I saw an article in the paper announcing the text messaging for guests, making people aware that it existed," Acting TofR President Jeff Throop told the Pasadena Star News about his visit to the Calgary Stampede, an outdoor festival in Canada. "And I go, `Wow, that's perfect and we should be doing it for our event. How can we get this done?"' more ›

As January 1st approaches, a slew of new laws will take effect, but not all: some laws, perhaps some of the most significant, begin July 1st, according to the California Highway Patrol. “The new laws are designed to make our roadways a safe place for motorists,” explained CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow in a statement. more ›

We see it everyday on Los Angeles roads. Drivers eating, reading, illegally talking on a cell phone, checking Google Maps on their iPhone, painting nails, etc. So much for paying attention, not to mention the lack of turn signals used in by L.A. drivers (annoying!). more ›

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Today will forever be remembered as The Day The Fun Died for those Californian motorists who revel in texting-while-driving. As we flip the calendar to 2009, that act becomes illegal whether you have an iPhone, a Blackberry, or a hefty Zack Morris phones from 1992.

Text Messaging (SB 28) This new law makes it an infraction to write, send, or read text-based communication on an electronic wireless communication device, such as a cell phone, while driving.

21-year-old Jeffrey Woods was indicted this week by the Orange County Grand Jury over the death of a 14-year-old teen he hit with his truck in August 2007. Woods was apparently texting about a drug deal at the time of the crash in Huntington Beach. He also was allegedly on Vicodin and Xanax. The teen, Danny Oates--also known as "Oatie"--was riding his bicycle to pick up his middle school schedule. Woods' arraignment for felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated and felony driving under the influence causing bodily injury is on December 5th. Texting while driving will be illegal beginning January 1st, 2009. more ›

The LAPD is gearing up for January 1st, 2009 when texting while driving will be added to this year's earlier cell phone ban. "Nationwide studies have linked cell phone use, including texting, to driver distraction resulting in traffic collisions,” Chief William Bratton said in a statement. “Drivers can lose substantial cognitive awareness with the situation on the road when they divert their attention away, for any reason, including cell phone texting. In fact, there were two recent fatal traffic collisions which occurred in the City of Los Angeles where it was determined that cell phone texting was a significant causal factor in both collisions." The law imposes identical fines to those associated with failing to use a hands-free device when using a cell phone while driving: $20 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses (but don't forget to add in court fees, etc, making the fines actually much higher). more ›