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Cops Will Ticket You For Texting and Driving. No, Seriously.
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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.
There's a law against texting and driving, but KABC notes that multitasking while driving takes a number of forms, all of which are equally dangerous:
Distracted driving contributed to 119 deaths and 17,000 injury crashes in California in 2009. And that's not just motorists talking on cellphones. It also includes people sending a text message, putting on makeup or eating a cheeseburger.
The issue has become of greater concern to CHP since it lost five officers to car crashes in just two months last year, three of which were due to distracted driving:
"It definitely touches close to home for us when we're constantly losing officers," [CHP Officer Hope] Maxson said.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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