April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be joining law enforcement agencies statewide stopping drivers who violate California’s hands-free cell phone law.

Throughout the month of April, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will have additional deputies on patrol looking specifically for drivers on their phones.

Last year, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued 15,042 citations to drivers texting, calling or performing another function on their phone. Distracted driving is dangerous, especially when it involves a cell phone. According to preliminary data from the California Highway Patrol, 66 people were killed and more than 6,500 injured in 2017 from distracted driving-related crashes.

“Cell phones remain one of the top distractions for drivers,” said Sgt. Robert Hill. “Like any bad habit, it can be hard to break, but this habit can have life-altering consequences.”

A 2018 observational survey by the California Office of Traffic Safety on driver cell phone use found about 4.5 percent of drivers are still using their cell phone illegally, a nearly 27 percent increase from 2016.

“That text or phone call will never be worth losing a life over,” Hill said. “That is why curbing distracted driving is high on our priority list.”

Under the most recent cell phone law that went into effect in 2017, drivers are prohibited from having a phone in their hand for any reason and can only use their phone in a hands-free manner. The phones must be mounted on the dashboard or center console, and can only be touched once with the swipe or tap of a finger to activate or deactivate a function. First-time offenders face a $162 fine.

If drivers need to make a call or text someone, they should pull over and park at a safe location. The LASD also recommends those who struggle to stay off the phone while driving put their phone in a place they can’t reach, like the backseat or trunk.

Funding for distracted driving enforcement operations are provided by a grant from the California OTS through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For information, visit lasd.org.