Gilroy Police Join Crackdown On Texting and Driving

If you ever text while driving, take note–Gilroy police are looking for you.

As part of California’s first Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Gilroy Police Department will join the California Highway Patrol and hundreds of other local departments statewide to crack down on texting and other distracting phone use, according to a release from Gilroy police.

The minimum cost of a ticket is $159, and subsequent tickets cost $279, police said.

Texting while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk, police said, and drivers using hand-held devices are four times more likely to be involved in an injury accident. 

“The Gilroy Police Department is committed to partnering with the Office of Traffic Safety during the month of April for the Distracted Driving Awareness Month,” said Gilroy police Chief Denise Turner in the release. “In an effort to reduce distracted driving, the Gilroy Police Department will have a zero tolerance for all cellphone use and texting.”

Christopher J. Murphy, state office of traffic safety director, said, “Convincing California drivers to wear seat belts 20 years ago wasn’t easy either, but in 2010 more than 96 percent buckled up, and thousands of lives were saved.” 

While California Senate Bill 1613 has required drivers to use a hands-free headset since 2008, police said that conversations using the devices can still result in dangerous “inattention blindness.”

Safety Tips from the California Office of Traffic Safety

• Turn your phone off or put it out of reach before starting the car.

• Alert callers that you are unable to take calls when driving by changing your voicemail message.

• Make it a point not to call or text anyone who may be driving, such as during the commute to and from work or school, especially parents calling teen drivers.

• If you do need to make an important call or respond to a text message, pull over to a safe place to do so.

• If going cold turkey is too much of a stretch and you just can’t turn your phone off, consider using one of the available mobile phone apps that holds calls and incoming texts.