April 2024, Newsletter
Distracted driving costs lives
Op-Ed by Joe Simitian
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, both nationally and here in Santa Clara County. Distracted driving is a topic I’ve been focused on since cell phones first became a part of our lives.
Distracted driving is anything that takes our eyes, hands, or mind away from the task of driving a car. But it’s not surprising that mobile devices remain the biggest distraction for drivers, whether it’s talking, texting, emailing, taking pictures, or using an app.
In 2006, as a state Senator, I authored what became California’s first law — and one of the first in the country — requiring that cell phones be used “hands free” while drivers are behind the wheel. In 2008, I introduced a follow-up bill to prohibit texting while driving. I also authored the bill that prohibited drivers under the age of 18 from using any electronic device while driving, even hands-free.
A study conducted by the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center at the University of California-Berkeley found that there were 75,000 to 100,000 fewer collisions each year in California as a result — the largest year-to-year drop in collisions in state history. Traffic deaths declined by more than 20% — 700 fewer fatalities in the first year the hands-free law was on the books.