California Spends $1.5 Million for Anti-distracted Driving Campaign

The U.S. federal government, through Department of Transportation secretary Ray LaHood, recently announced that the State of California will receive an amount of $1.5 million to fund its anti-distracted driving campaigns.

Incidentally, the federal government believes that by increasing the public’s awareness regarding the hazards of distracted driving, violators can be significantly reduced.

The fund will be sent to the Sacramento area for advertising and increasing traffic enforcement. The campaign came in line with the effort of emphasizing the dangers that distracted driving might bring such as injuries, death, and damage to properties.

Actually, the allotted fund is $2.4 million but only $1.5 million will be given to the State of California while the rest will be handed over to Delaware for the same purpose.

Meanwhile, the Golden State will earmark its money to pay for Sacramento Valley media market advertisements. Also, the fund will serve as compensation for extra officers to police distracted driving over a couple of weeks in December, February, or March and June, according to the Office of Traffic Safety spokesperson Chris Cochran.

The concept of said campaigns came in light of smaller-scale programs that were launched in Hartford, Connecticut, and Syracuse, New York. Incidentally, the said programs have caught the attention of the federal government after they gained significant success by reducing a great portion of distracted driving in each state.

Meanwhile, in the 2010 statistics, the NHTSA revealed that exactly 3,092 people were killed in distracted driving accidents, which accounts for 1 out of 10 road fatalities. Statistics also showed that cell phone use was a major factor in almost a quarter of all car accidents in 2010, according to the National Safety Council. 

It has been a long while since California prohibited texting and using hand-held devices while driving. However, despite the prohibition, some 10.8 percent of California drivers still use cell phones while driving.

At present, out of 50 U.S. states, only 39 ban texting and driving, while 10 states prohibit cell phone use while driving.

Meanwhile, although Danielle Lee, the Secretary for Teens Against Distracted Driving, appreciates all efforts exerted by the government, she insisted that the only way to prevent distracted driving would be to create more severe penalties for stubborn drivers.

Moreover, a Los Angeles personal injury attorney agreed with Lee and claimed that if there would be severe penalties, then there should be more comprehensive traffic laws as well.

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