Albany Police to Focus on Hand-Held Phones, Texting While Driving on Tuesday

From an Albany Police Department press release:

On Tuesday, April 16, 2013, the Albany Police Department will join forces with the Office of Traffic Safety and the California Highway Patrol to focus enforcement efforts on drivers using hand-held phones and texting. Distracted driving is the cause of thousands of crashes every day and talking or texting while driving is never worth a collision, injury or death.

The entire month of April is dedicated to increasing public awareness of how dangerous distracted driving can be. With the increase in the prevalence of smartphones and other hand-held devices, more and more drivers engage in distracted driving. In 2011 alone 3,331 people were killed in accidents involving inattentive drivers.

The Albany Police Department is funding this enforcement effort through a $29,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways through special enforcement and public awareness efforts. Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The Albany Police Department is committed to helping keep the streets safe both through enforcement and education. Simple steps can help prevent you from reaching for your phone:

• turn off, or silence, your phone

• ask a passenger to text or call for you

For additional information, please contact Sgt Chris Willis, 510-525-7300, cwillis@albanyca.org