It Could Be Your Last Tweet: Distracting Driving Can be Fatal

A few days ago, on April 3,  the Huffington Post picked up a story from the Denver suburb of Greeley, Colo., about 22-year old Alexander Heit, a university student who died in a fatal car crash. He lost control of his vehicle while texting, over-corrected and rolled off the roadway into a steep drop.

Police found the cell phone he was using at the time, a last unsent message still in its memory: “Sounds good my man, seeya soon, ill tw  ”

That April is National Distracted Driving Month makes stories like this one all the more heartbreaking.

In California there’s a statewide effort this month to eliminate dangerous behind-the-wheel cell phone use and texting. The overall goal of the increased enforcement is to convince drivers of the dangers of distracted driving and reduce the number of people impacted by this risky behavior.

In Petaluma, on the day Alexander Heit died, officers made 146 traffic stops and issued 100 tickets, including 80 to people using their phones. Petaluma Police noted another such special operation is planned on April 16.

In Healdsburg, there is no special “dedicated enforcement operation planned,” said Lt. Matt Jenkins of the HPD. “That would be part of something the officers are focusing on when they’re out and about in their normal patrol.”

If you think cell phone use means talking on the phone, think again. A California court recently ruled that it is illegal to hold a mobile phone for GPS navigation as it too violates the state’s law against distracted driving.

The current ticket for a first-time distracted driving offense is $159, with subsequent tickets costing at least $279.

But it's not just about the fine. In recent years, hundreds have been killed and thousands seriously injured in California as a result of collisions that involved at least one driver who was distracted. Nationally, an estimated 3,331 people died in 2011.

Any activity that diverts the driver’s attention away from the primary task of driving is distracting, but the recent dramatic rise in cell phone talking and texting has greatly increased the number of collisions.

Behind the wheel, cell phone conversation can cause a 37 percent reduction in proper brain function, transforming even good drivers into inattentive “zombies” behind the wheel.

The “It’s Not Worth It!” theme emphasizes that a phone call or text isn’t worth a hefty fine or a collision.

Or someone else’s life. Or your own.

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