LONG BEACH, CA \u2014 April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the Long Beach Police Department is reminding drivers to stay focused while behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cDistracted driving continues to put everyone on the road at risk,\u201d LBPD Commander Jeremy Boshnack said. \u201cWhen drivers take their eyes off the road, even for a few seconds, lives can change forever. We\u2019re reminding our community that safety starts with each of us. Put the phone down, limit distractions, and help people get home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under current law, drivers are not allowed to hold a phone or other electronic device while operating a vehicle, even when stopped at a red light. This includes talking, texting, or using an app. Using a handheld cell phone while driving can result in a fine, and if a driver violates the hands-free law a second time within 36 months of a previous conviction for the same offense, an additional point will be added to their record.<\/p>\n
The LBPD has said that throughout April, officers are actively looking for drivers who violate the state\u2019s hands-free cell phone law. They’re asking drivers to follow a handful of simple steps to stay focused and protect everyone on the road:<\/p>\n
Put your phone away: Silence notifications and store your phone where you can\u2019t reach it while driving.Plan ahead: Set your GPS, adjust mirrors and finish any tasks before you start driving.Keep both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road: Avoid eating, grooming or adjusting controls while driving.Be a role model: Show your passengers, especially young drivers, that focused driving is the norm.Speak up: If you\u2019re a passenger and see the driver distracted, kindly remind them to stay focused.Pull over if necessary: If something urgent comes up, stop and park in a safe place before responding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONG BEACH, CA \u2014 April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the Long Beach Police Department is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-254396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254396","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=254396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}