Modesto police dial in on talking drivers

Modesto’s traffic officers have issued more than 80 citations since Wednesday as part of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and they will be issuing more tickets throughout April to drivers they catch talking or texting on hand-held cellphones.

The fine is pretty steep.

A ticket for illegally using a cellphone while driving is $161 in Stanislaus County for a motorist with a clean driving record, according to Stanislaus County Superior Court. The fine is higher for drivers with previous violations.

Although the month is about distracted driving in general, the focus is on drivers using cellphones when they shouldn’t. Statewide, about 90 percent of distracted-driving tickets are related to the use of cellphones, said spokesman Chris Cochran with the California Office of Traffic Safety, which provides Modesto and other law enforcement agencies with grants to carry out the enforcement.

Cochran said officers can cite motorists for other types of distracted driving, such as veering into another lane while putting on makeup, eating or talking to passengers. These citations are for driving at a speed that is not safe for the conditions. The amount of the ticket varies based on such factors as the speed limit.

“The only safe speed to eat a Big Mac is zero,” Cochran said.

Cochran said the number of tickets issued statewide for cellphone violations typically doubles during April as law enforcement agencies take part in the enforcement.

Modesto police spokeswoman Heather Graves said Monday that the number of citations issued by her department is surprising because the Police Department used social media last week to warn the public about the enforcement.

“It is a high number for us after letting people know we were going to be out there,” Graves said. But she said a bright spot is that traffic officers reported issuing few citations to 16- and 17-year-old drivers, who are banned from the use of all cellphones while behind the wheel.

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Modesto police dial in on talking drivers."