San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Blog

California Highway Patrol Cracks Down on “Zombie Drivers”

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will be  cracking down. The CHP refers to the distracted drivers as “zombie drivers,” because they are essentially asleep at the wheel if they are not paying attention. According to Vacaville Police, distracted drivers are responsible for hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries over the last several years in California. “It is critically important that everyone who drives realize the risks of driving while doing things which distract their attention from the road,” says Vacaville Police Chief Richard Word. “Some of these distractions include using a cell phone, reaching for an object inside a vehicle, or reading. In just seconds, a distraction can take our attention away from another vehicle or a child who steps into the roadway.” The Vacaville Police launched their crackdown on distracted driving in 2011, and have since issued approximately 52,000 citations…
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World’s Most Distracted Driver Arrested in California

Police in Torrance, California pulled over a 29-year-old woman who has been dubbed by some as the “world’s most distracted driver.” According to reports, Shawndeeia Bowen was pulled over on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles while texting on her cell phone and also having her one-year-old daughter on her lap. She was driving on a suspended license and was reported to be traveling at speeds in excess of 90 miles-per-hour. Bowen, the mother of six, also had two of her other children in the backseat not wearing seat belts. “Her excuse was that, while she was driving on the 91 freeway near Compton, the one-year-old started crying and in an effort to comfort the one-year-old, she pulled the one-year-old to the front seat,” the Torrance Police Department told CBS News in Los Angeles. Bowen has been charged with reckless driving and child endangerment. She was held on $130,000 bail…
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April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

The California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department are working together to crack down on distracted driving, according to sources. They are boosting enforcement resources for the second annual National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Police will enforce their zero-tolerance policy on all distracted drivers caught this month. “We take the issue of distracted driving very seriously,” says LAPD Lt. Ronald Katona. “Is that text message or cell phone call really worth $159?” Penalties for first timers is $159, but for multiple offenders the minimum fine is $279. Distracted driving is not only limited to cell phone use, however—anything that takes your attention away from driving is illegal, like eating, applying makeup or adjusting the radio. “Recently, more people are distracted with technology,” said CHP Public Information Officer Rick Quintero. “Driving is multitasking as it is. That in itself takes a lot of work and attention.” So keep this…
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