{"id":249426,"date":"2026-04-03T02:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T02:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/249426\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T02:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T02:29:09","slug":"fresno-police-step-up-hands-free-law-enforcement-for-distracted-driving-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/249426\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno police step up hands-free law enforcement for Distracted Driving Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Fresno Police Department is reminding drivers to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.<\/p>\n<p>Distractions such as texting, using a car app, adjusting the radio, or eating while driving can have devastating consequences. <\/p>\n<p>According to the 2025 California Statewide Public Opinion Survey, nearly 71.4% of drivers said distracted driving, especially from checking a phone, was their top safety concern.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, 158 people were killed in distracted driving crashes in California, a 6.8% increase from the previous year. <\/p>\n<p>[RELATED] <a href=\"https:\/\/kmph.com\/news\/local\/fresno-safety-crackdown-nets-120-citations-for-drivers-cyclists-and-pedestrians\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Fresno safety crackdown nets 120 citations for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Experts warn these numbers may be underreported since officers cannot always determine if distraction caused a crash.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout April, Fresno police will be actively enforcing the state\u2019s hands-free cell phone law, which prohibits holding or using a phone while driving, even at a red light. Violations can result in fines, and repeat offenses within 36 months can add points to a driver\u2019s record.<\/p>\n<p>The Fresno Police Department offers these tips to stay safe:<\/p>\n<p>Put your phone away: Silence notifications and store your phone out of reach.Plan ahead: Set GPS, mirrors, and controls before starting your drive.Keep both hands on the wheel: Avoid eating, grooming, or adjusting controls while moving.Be a role model: Show passengers, especially young drivers, how to stay focused.Speak up: Passengers should politely remind drivers if they become distracted.Pull over if necessary: Stop in a safe place to handle urgent tasks.<\/p>\n<p>Funding for distracted driving enforcement is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Fresno Police Department is reminding&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-249426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}