Fresno Police Targeting Distracted Drivers All April, Violations Carry Serious Penalties

Fresno police began targeted distracted driving patrols across the city this month, with officers on proactive lookout for anyone holding or manipulating a phone behind the wheel, including drivers stopped at red lights.

The Fresno Police Department kicked off the stepped-up enforcement April 2 as part of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Funding for the campaign comes from a grant administered by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The patrols continue through the end of April.

The campaign arrives alongside troubling statewide numbers. In 2023, 158 people were killed in distracted-driving crashes across California, a 6.8% increase from the previous year. The 2025 California Statewide Public Opinion Survey put that concern in sharper relief: 71.4% of drivers surveyed named texting or phone use behind the wheel as their single biggest road safety concern.

California law prohibits holding a phone while driving under any circumstances, and Fresno officers are not limiting their focus to moving vehicles. Picking up a phone at a red light counts as a violation. Repeat offenders face escalating consequences beyond the initial citation, including points added to their driving record, which can raise insurance rates and in serious cases jeopardize a license.

The department framed the enforcement campaign as a behavior-change effort, not simply a citation drive. Officers will focus on visible, proactive patrols rather than waiting for crashes to surface the problem.

Drivers can avoid penalties by silencing or stowing their phones before starting the car, programming GPS routes while still parked, and pulling over safely if an urgent call or message demands attention. Keeping both hands on the wheel remains the baseline expectation under California law.

Fresno's operations are one piece of a broader California Office of Traffic Safety initiative, with enforcement data expected to feed into statewide metrics tracking the effectiveness of distracted-driving campaigns across jurisdictions.