Poll: Do Drivers Need More Education on Distracted Driving?

The Dec. 1, when Kaitlyn Dunaway struck and killed 2-year-old Calli Murray in a crosswalk near Sunrise Park, while texting and driving, has ignited a conversation in the Bay Area about the dangers of texting and driving.

In the months following Calli's death, the city of Rohnert Park commissioned a , nonprofit groups throghout the North Bay threw wildly for the Murray family and a senator from the South Bay drafted legislation that hiking cell phone fines twofold.

While the accident no doubt drew attention to the dangers of texting or talking while driving, . State data from the California Office of Traffic Safety show:

• Drivers who use a phone while driving delays a driver's reactions  as someone with a .08 blood alcohol level.
• At least 10 percent of drivers on the road at a given time are using the phone.
• Driving while using a cell phone reduces brain activity 37 percent.
• The number one source of driver inattention is use of phones.
• Drivers who talk or text while operating a vehicle are four times more likely to get into serious crashes.

A Santa Rosa judge that instead of six months to a year of jail time, Dunaway will likely be required to do 300 hours of community service, which would be spent talking to high school students about the dangers of distracted driving.