Police operation to target distracted drivers near Rohnert Park schools

Police officers from several Sonoma County law enforcement agencies will be on the lookout for distracted drivers near Rohnert Park schools today, hoping to educate young motorists about the dangers of failing to focus on the road.

Traffic officers from Rohnert Park, Cotati, Santa Rosa, Windsor, Sebastopol and the CHP will work together to contact drivers who are talking or texting on cellphones or otherwise using devices in their vehicles in an unsafe manner.

“Drivers still believe they can drive and text or have the ability to talk (on phones) and drive,” Sgt Aaron Johnson said. “What they do not understand is another component of distracted driving is the cognitive distraction.”

The proliferation of mobile devices has made it easier for drivers to talk, text, navigate and listen to music or other media on their smartphones.

Officers used to routinely give citations to anyone spotted using a cellular device, but that legal landscape has gotten a bit murky. Courts have held that just as drivers have a right to read a map while driving, so too do they have the right to use their phones for the same purpose, Johnson said.

“Case law has supported the idea that drivers can use their phones as a navigational device,” he said.

That’s made enforcement tricky. Drivers spotted actively engaging in conversation or tapping away on a screen can still be cited. But because of the navigation exemption, officers tend to wait for evidence of distraction before issuing a citation, Johnson said.

He stressed, however, that using a phone to navigate is still against the law if it creates a distraction, under the vehicle code that prohibits motorists from driving too fast for conditions.

Ear buds are another complicating factor and source of confusion for drivers, he said. Use of one ear bud is legal, but two is not, Johnson said.

Because of these legal complexities, the Sonoma County Combined Intensive Traffic Enforcement (CITE) team tries to press drivers on the importance of not allowing device usage to sap their concentration from the task at hand, Johnson said. The officers are focusing on schools because studies have shown young people are more susceptible to device distraction, and because complaints about young people’s driving habits are rampant, he said.

“Distracted driving and speeding vehicles in and around schools is our biggest complaint,” he said

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.