B Careful Where U Txt, Cop Sez

U shdnt txt & drive in April.

As part of California’s second annual Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Orange County police and deputies will join a statewide crackdown on drivers who send text messages or talk on cell phones without a hands-free device.

The minimum fine is $160, according to a Sheriff's Department press release.

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times more likely to get into serious crashes, officials said. And drivers under age 20 have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.

Locally, one person trying to make roads safer is Wayne Irving II, CEO of the Laguna Niguel-based organization, Textkills.com and Iconosys. His company has developed SMS Replier and DriveReply, the smartphone app that combats distracted driving.

His textkills.com campaign started in 2009 when Irving saw how addicted his then 15-year-old daughter, Brynna, was to texting, he said.

"She was doing it at the dinner table, and then I started looking at statistics and knew I had to do something," he said. "I think we all know someone who has been involved in some kind of accident that had to do with texting while driving."

So, in May 2010, Irving and his partners began traveling the country  via their 36-foot, flat-nosed fleet textkills.com tour bus helping to promote no texting while driving.

To date, the bus—wrapped in the textkills.com logo—has more than 15,000 signatures, including staffers of Oprah Winfrey's Harpo studios in Chicago and numerous celebrities: Simon Cowell, Will and Jada Smith, Justin Bieber, Usher, Naomi Campbell and Dr. Oz.

Numbers Don't Lie

Studies show that texting while driving can delay a driver’s reaction time as much as being drunk, according to a press release.

“California’s cell and texting laws have made a big difference – cutting deaths by nearly half. But half is not enough,” said Office of Traffic Safety Director Christopher J. Murphy.

To minimize distractions in the vehicle, police recommend several steps:

• Turn off your phone or put it out of reach before starting the car.
• Avoid calling or texting friends and family during their commutes to and from work or school.
• If you need to make an important call or respond to a text message, pull over to a safe place first.

Residents say:

Jennifer Kilger, 38, "I think it is irresponsible for people to drive while using their phones. It puts themselves at risk and other people around them. Especially with families with children."

Kevin Chiu, 20, "I always abide by the law and don't use my phone when I drive. Too many of my friends have gotten in accidents while texting and driving."

Mark Perez, 22,"I rear-ended someone once while I was texting. I learned my lesson after that. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye while you're driving."