Six more Los Angeles County sheriff deputies will be enforcing traffic laws in Santa Clarita.
The city is emphasizing the need for motor safety, said Santa Clarita’s Communications Manager Carrie Lujan.
“Our motor officers will be enforcing traffic safety and are a visible reminder for drivers to slow down and follow the rules of the road,” Lujan said.
The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station now has a motorcycle detail of six officers. Katharine Lotze/The SignalWith higher-speed roads than many cities, and people going excessive speeds, accidents have been rising locally just as they have been nationally.
Both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian accidents are often times the result.
According to the L.A. Sheriff’s Department Traffic Services Detail, 339 people in Santa Clarita were given traffic citations for using their cell phones behind the wheel in 2016.
Comparatively, 831 people were given citations in 2015, 681 in 2014, 1,104 in 2013 and 1,005 in 2012 across the city.
Especially as April is National Distracted Driving Month, law enforcement officials are warning communities against using their phones while driving.
Californians can no longer hold their cell phones in their hand while driving, but can still swipe or tap phones to activate or deactivate a feature if the phone is mounted, as of the implementation of Assembly Bill 1785 in January. Drivers under 18 years old are completely prohibited from using their phone while driving.
And, distracted drivers often are at fault for many of the collisions. Across the state, 85 people were killed and 11,262 were injured in 2015 because of distracted driving collisions, and 3,477 people were killed and about 391,000 were injured nationwide.
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