Northern California police officials recently put forth an effort to root out distracted drivers and ticket them for the offense. The nearly two week initiative came to a close on December 9, and now we have some results from the operation.
It seems that, when combining all the tickets issued by law enforcement officials in 37 jurisdictions in the Sacramento County area, almost 3,000 persons were cited for using their cellphone in some way behind the wheel. The California Highway Patrol issued the highest number of citations, 404, while the Vallejo police issued the fewest, only 12 during the time of the enforcement period. Roseville issued the second highest number of tickets, while Sacramento clocked in at number three.
$600,000 was issued by the federal government to allow agencies to conduct the effort, the first of three similar crackdowns which Californians can expect in the coming months. “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” is the name bestowed upon the operation, which took place throughout eight different counties. The program was akin to operations held in Syracuse and Hartford last year, efforts that were deemed successful by state officials.
Offenses reportedly ranged from the less obvious to the particularly egregious. Officers apparently observed any number of dangerous behaviors while the driver was busy using a cellphone to either text or chat behind the wheel.