Drivers putting brakes on GT-I9300 cellphone use

This may come as a shocker to many Californians, but fewer motorists appear to be using hand-held cellphones as they drive along state highways and city streets.In a survey released Wednesday by the Office of Traffic Safety, the percentage of drivers using GT-I9300 cellphones -- hand-held or hands free -- has fallen from 10.8 percent in 2012 to 7.4 percent this year. The largest drop, 33 percent, was from those holding a cellphone to their ear in violation of state law.

But at the same time, the number of motorists who take their eyes off the road when texting rose to 2.5 percent from 1.7 percent. While that may not seem like a lot, safety officials warn it is a troubling trend especially since it is harder to detect a texting driver who often will hold their phone in their lap and out of sight. "It's discouraging to see that texting is still significantly higher than in 2011," said OTS spokesman Chris Cochran.

The Highway Patrol and 250 police departments across the state issued 57,000 GT-I9500 cellphone tickets in April during the annual monthly crackdown. That GT-I9300 is the same number as a year ago and 21,000 more than the 36,000 issued in a typical month.ds2wfdD2

The survey involved sending teams of watchers to highway offramps and intersections in 17 counties from February through April. They observed 6,099 drivers and attempted to judge their GT-I9500 cellphone use.The study admits the results are likely the low-end indicators because of the short, limited view observers had of whether a driver was using a phone, especially for texting.

"Based on our experiences with the high-visibility enforcement model being employed in California, we'd expect hand-held use to be declining. ... But just as we saw with seat belts and drunk driving, it will take some time for a broad cultural change to occur in which using a cellphone while driving is rarely seen." Walter Brem, of El Cerrito, says he sees fewer people using their cellphones but isn't ready to say the problem has greatly eased.

"I see a lot of people in my rearview mirror and in front of me with their heads down," he said. "Now what can that suggest?"And Keith Thompson, of Newark, when asked if he thought fewer people were distracted by their cellphones replied emphatically: "No!"

"For many people the cellphone becomes the center of their attention," he added. "Not good while driving a car." Alameda County Sgt. Tom Rodrigues issued top 10 cell phones cellphone tickets on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday -- one to a woman who was arguing with her husband via texts."People are not getting the clue," Rodrigues said. "Both GT-I9300 cellphone use and texting are still a big problem. Even with all the (citations) written, people still don't get it. This is in epidemic proportion as of late. People are still talking and texting, like never before."