Being distracted while driving has been a growing issue with the development of new technology. Due to texting and other handheld devices, cops in California will be cracking down next month on drivers who use these items behind the wheel for Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

“Our enforcement is always geared toward educating the driver,” Sgt. John Ott said. “There are lots of traffic codes out there and we can hardly expect the driving public to know them all in depth.”

According to research done by the US News and World Report 2011 found on www.textfreedriving.org , texting while driving is one of the leading causes of death for drivers ages 16 to 52.

However, people take risks in using handheld devices while driving. This can lead to accidents, crashes and even death if ones attention is not solely on driving safely.

According to statistics found on www.distraction.gov , 3,331 people were killed in 2011 and 416,000 people were injured in 2010 due to distracted drivers.

“Texting and driving is not safe for everyone. I text at a red light, like who doesn’t? But again there are people who abuse it and harm others,” Isiah Simon, 18, film major said.

Distracted driving is caused by multitasking which tangles the mind with different activities that effect the quality of work being done. Multitasking is not good for the brain when it comes to focusing on a particular task according to health.com

“I can get a text message from my girlfriend, get all excited and boom! I just hit a Camaro. That person can be severally injured and damaged, all because of a text message,” Michael Delu, 18, communications major said.

Eating and drinking, disciplining children in the back-set, applying makeup, playing with devices like phones, music players, and navigation systems all help aid in the distraction drivers may have.

“We are here to keep people safe and to keep people alive. Part of keeping them alive is by conducting traffic stops for violations,” Sgt. Ott said.

For more tips, students can visit this link http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Pages/DDAM.aspx