Crime & Safety

Is Police's Message About Distracted Driving Finally Getting Through?

Rohnert Park police issue more than 20 citations Tuesday. Can't resist the urge to return a text or phone call while driving? A Sonoma Count

Rohnert Park police issued more than 20 citations for distracted driving Tuesday, saying that more people are finally be getting the message about using cell phones in the car.

“We are not seeing as many blatant cell phone calls like we used to,” said Rohnert Park Department of Safety Sgt. Aaron Johnson.

“However, drivers are still texting, reading email or using the phone as a GPS while holding it in their hand…Repeatedly I see drivers with their phones in their laps typing away. They just don’t realize how quickly they may have to make an evasive driving maneuver.”

Find out what's happening in Rohnert Park-Cotatiwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One of the people cited Tuesday was a Rohnert Park resident who in addition to gabbing away on his phone was allegedly driving under the influence. A test revealed Mattioli’s blood alcohol level to be 0.09 percent.

“The drunk drivers that fall into the .08 to .10 percent are one of the most dangerous because they have slowed reaction times,” said Johnson. “But they admittedly tell you they do not feel intoxicated. The majority of them would get behind the wheel if given the opportunity again.”

Find out what's happening in Rohnert Park-Cotatiwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Can’t resist the urge to reply to a text or pick up a call you get while driving? Several months ago, Patch wrote about a new smart phone app developed by a Petaluma resident called Safe Text Sender that automatically answers text messages and phone calls.

Want to know more? Check out our story on it here.

Like Rohnert Park-Cotati Patch on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. And sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter. Have an opinion about what’s going on? Share it with a blog.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.