Visalia Police Cite 29 Drivers in Hands-Free Phone Enforcement Operation

Twenty-nine drivers were cited for hands-free cell phone violations Thursday after the Visalia Police Department ran a targeted distracted-driving enforcement operation in the south San Joaquin Valley.

"Despite repeated efforts to warn drivers about the hands-free cell phone law, some drivers continue to use their phones while operating a vehicle," Visalia officer Derek Neece said in a statement following the operation.

California has had distracted driving laws on the books since 2008, and the current prohibition is broad: drivers cannot hold or operate a phone or other electronic device while behind the wheel, including when stopped in traffic. A first offense carries a possible fine of $150 to $250. A second violation within 36 months of a prior conviction for the same offense adds a point to the driver's record.

Police recommend that anyone needing to make a call or program directions pull over to a safe parking spot first, then either silence the phone or stow it somewhere reachable before getting back on the road.

The operation was funded through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, channeled through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The scale of the problem those agencies are trying to address is significant: 148 people were killed in California in 2022 in crashes involving a distracted driver, according to the Office of Traffic Safety, a figure that, despite representing a 5.1 percent decrease from 2021, still underscores persistent danger on state roads. Nationally, the NHTSA counted 3,275 deaths in distracted-driving crashes in 2023 alone. The Office of Traffic Safety identifies mobile devices as the leading source of driver distraction, whether through texting, phone calls, or app use.

Neece framed the operation in terms of long-term impact rather than citation counts. "Our ultimate goal is to change behaviors that help make our roads safer," he said.