Crime & Safety

Orindans Nabbed in County-Wide Cell Phone Crackdown

Depending on who you speak with the cell phone genie is already out of the bottle but dozens of Contra Costa residents - including more than a few in Orinda - felt the sting of those $25 tickets Wednesday.

Orinda police Wednesday joined a county-wide enforcement effort aimed at those who insist on conducting business - or talking with their BFFs - while zooming down the road at 80 mph.

California Highway Patrol enforcement teams working Contra Costa highways snagged 226 drivers caught either talking on the phone without a hands-free device, reading, or sending text messages.  Police in Orinda, Walnut Creek, Concord and Pleasant Hill issued another 125 citations for cell phone use and four more to texters.

"In 23 hours we cited 29 drivers, which amounted to 1.26 cites per hour," Orinda Police Chief Jeff Jennings said Thursday. "We only had a few officers on this detail but you can see that when we focus on distracted driving, especially ones on cellular phones we make the roads safer."

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Jennings says evidence is mounting that distracted driving leads to more accidents and deaths than even driving under the influence.

"Citizens in Lamorinda need to take care of themselves and their neighbors by pledging to stop driving distracted, and part of that is to go hands free on their phones," he said.

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An agency by agency breakdown of citations written was not available, though the Contra Costa enforcement effort turned out to be the most productive for Bay Area law enforcement. Throughout the Bay Area, CHP and police enforcement teams issued 1,542 citations for cell phone violations with another 77 for texting.


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