Observing April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month, safety advocates will focus on education and enforcement efforts statewide. Menlo Park’s Police Department will join others throughout the state to step up enforcement along with awareness efforts by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to discourage distracted driving. Officers will have a special emphasis this month on enforcing all cell phone and distracted driving laws. The goal is to increase voluntary compliance by drivers, but sometimes citations are necessary for motorists to better understand the importance of driving distraction  

The City of Menlo Park is deploying extra traffic officers with grant-funded resources the week of April 9, to city locations with a high number of traffic collisions. Violators will be stopped and cited with fines set at $162 for first-time offenders. This campaign is funded by a State OTS grant, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

Since 2011, OTS has conducted an observational study of handheld cell phone use every year. “This year’s study on the use of handheld cell phones and texting shows a decrease over past years; however, more work needs to be done to target those who were observed to still be breaking the law,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “The best way to put an end to distracted driving is to educate all Californians about the danger it poses. We will do this through enforcement and education efforts like our new advertising campaign “Just Drive,” reminding drivers to put down their phones and focus on the road.”