San Diego -- Distracted drivers beware. San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies and Highway Patrol officers are looking for you.
“This week and several other times during the year we have a distracted driver campaign,” said Sheriff’s deputy, Sergeant Scott Hill. “We’re out enforcing zero tolerance on distracted driving.”
The zero tolerance enforcement campaign started in 2010, when the goal then was to educate teens about cell phone usage and texting while driving. Now the campaign includes adults.
“The deputies are out driving around, they’re looking for the hand up to the ear, the head’s tilted over, the heads down at the lap…the texting part of it,” Hill said.
The campaign runs through February 18th. If you’re stopped by an officer, the first ticket is $159.00. After that, the price per ticket climbs to $279.
Hill said they aren’t just looking for people using cell phones. Distracted driving can include eating, putting on makeup, reading, playing with a GPS, anything that keeps a driver from paying full attention to the road.
While adults can purchase hands free devices to use while driving, teens cannot.
