Yuma Police Urge Drivers to Put Phones Down During Distracted Driving Month

One phone glance can kill. That was the message Yuma Police Officer Hayato Johnson delivered as the Yuma Police Department stepped up its campaign against distracted driving in April, National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

"One simple mistake can either end somebody's life or end yours or somebody can get seriously injured," Johnson said, underscoring why YPD issued a public safety advisory urging Yuma-area motorists to keep phones out of their hands behind the wheel.

The advisory aligns with a national enforcement initiative called "Put the Phone Away or Pay," coordinated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through high-visibility enforcement windows each spring. Local officers have been reminding drivers about safe habits on Yuma-area roadways throughout the month.

Johnson went beyond the human toll to outline the financial aftermath that can follow a crash. "You can have financial hardships from all of this," he said. "Court fees don't just end right after the case, they can go on for years."

YPD offered concrete prevention steps alongside the warning. If a text cannot wait, pull over first. For drivers who don't trust themselves to resist the phone, Johnson suggested placing it in the trunk, glove box, or back seat at the start of a trip, removing the temptation before it arises rather than fighting it at a stoplight.

National data ties thousands of traffic fatalities annually to distracted driving, a toll that safety advocates say will not drop without sustained enforcement and shifts in behavior behind the wheel. Citations are possible throughout April, but Johnson's message centered on cost, not fines. Some consequences, he noted, stretch on for years; others cannot be undone at all.