Full Notification

Petaluma Police Department
NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release                                                                        4/6/24
Issued By:
Sergeant Walt Spiller, Petaluma PD, 707.778.4372, [email protected]

Incident:                 Distracted Driving Awareness  
Occurred Date :           4/5/24
Location:                     Petaluma
 
On Friday, Petaluma PD deployed three motor officers to conduct a Distracted Driving Enforcement Operation as part of our ongoing Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Grant.  These officers were specifically patrolling and looking for distracted drivers.  Between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM, officers made 49 traffic stops and issued 24 citations for driving while distracted with the use of a cell phone.  15 drivers were issued citations for speeding.  This Operation was part of an ongoing effort to educate drivers to not drive while distracted.  Specifically, not to drive with a cell phone unless operating such a device “hands free”. 
 
April, is nationally recognized as “Distracted Driving Awareness Month” as part of a large and comprehensive campaign to stop distracted driving.  Currently, we are in a mobilization period from 4/3/24-4/10/24 to enforce these violations within the City of Petaluma.   
 
Distracted Driving plays a large role in collisions on the roadway.  In 2021, 140 people were killed in California because of a distracted driver.  This was a 27% increase from 2020.  Nationally, 3522 lives were tragically taken because of distracted driving. 
            
In California, it is illegal to operate your vehicle on the roadway while holding your cellphone or similar electronic device in your hand.  Doing such increases the risk of getting into a crash by three times.  The Petaluma Police Department will continue our efforts to educate and discourage distracted driving while on Petaluma streets.
 
Funding for the Distracted Driving Enforcement Operation was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  OTS asks drivers to, “Put Your Phone Down.  Just Drive.”   Tips and facts and other information about distracted driving laws and prevention can be found at  http://gosafelyca.org/. 
 
Media inquiries may be directed to Sergeant Walt Spiller at [email protected] or phone 707-778-4596.