CELL PHONES BIG DISTRACTIONS 40 PERCENT OF RED-LIGHT VIOLATORS WERE GABBING, PHOTOGRAPHS SHOW.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- More than 40 percent of drivers nailed on camera for running red lights in Santa Clarita are freeze-framed, cell phone to ear.

The chatter is blamed for slowing reaction times by a few tenths of a second, and the result is a clear photo and a $351 citation for chatty drivers.

``People say phones are not a distraction, but ... whenever you're on the phone or eating, it affects your reaction time,'' sheriff's Deputy Robert Smoldt said. ``It takes you longer to react to a threat, or a yellow light turning red or a car pulling out in front or you.''

Drivers typically react to changing scenarios in 1 1/2 to 3 seconds, he said.

Eight intersections in town are wired. Cameras were installed in June at three locations after the enforcement system wired into five others in July 2004 proved successful, city officials said.

Serious collisions at these intersections and others have decreased about 30 percent overall since the red-light program began, Smoldt said.

During the first month the cameras were in use, 586 warning notices were issued, said Gus Pivetti, a senior traffic engineer for the city. In the first year, 5,812 citations were issued. The number declined in the second year, which ended in June, to 3,445 citations.

Cameras are activated when motorists run red lights, shooting images of the front of the car, the back of the car showing the license plate, and a close-up of the driver's face to accompany the citation. A private company operates the system, but the Sheriff's Department evaluates each case before a ticket is issued.

Teens were once thought to be riskier drivers, but few under 18 are caught on camera in Santa Clarita.

``I had a few on learner's permits where the parents are in the car with them,'' said Colleen Murphy, an operations assistant for the Sheriff's Department, who reviews red-light camera photos. Every couple of months, she spots someone under 18 but most offenders are 18 to 85, she said.

In addition to the cell-phone yakkers, Murphy said, 10 percent of the lawbreakers running the red are eating, drinking coffee or reading. Once or twice a week, she goes head to head with folks who dispute the tickets -- up to five cases each time -- but said in her year on the job, a judge has found each one guilty.

Perhaps drivers in Santa Clarita are talking to friends in Costa Mesa.

``They're always on the phone, the phone is, like, glued to everybody's head,'' said Sgt. Rich Allum, coordinator for the Costa Mesa Police Department's red-light enforcement program. He said at least 40 percent of the violators can be seen yakking on the phone. Cameras wired at four city intersections since 2003 have caught people applying makeup, reading books and eating. ``And one guy was shaving. Thank goodness, it was electric.''

Folks in Bakersfield, too, have been snapped by red-light cameras, gabbing away, for the four years cameras have been in place.

``It's not uncommon for us to see people on film talking on the phone when they run the red light,'' said Greg Terry, a spokesman for the Bakersfield Police Department. Terry said motorists on cell phones account for nearly half of red-light tickets issued at eight intersections there.

In Lancaster, red-light cameras went into operation in September at two intersections and in their first 30 days photographed 322 red-light runners. Deputies who reviewed the photos said many of the motorists were talking on cell phones, though they didn't count how many.

``It's not anything we're taking count on,'' Deputy Dennis Campbell said. ``We've noticed it.''

Pasadena's red-light cameras have captured people applying makeup, chatting, holding pets and talking on the phone. An informal study done about two years ago by Officer Brian Bozarth of the Pasadena department showed a high volume of people -- about 20 percent, he said -- talking on cell phones as they ran the lights. Three Pasadena intersections have been wired since 2002.

A nonprofit group that has spent three decades exploring what causes crashes and how to prevent them says drivers talking on cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in serious crashes. And its 2005 study showed outcomes can differ if drivers are engaged on the phone or with passengers.

``Part of the difference may be the person in the car is in the same driving environment and can stop talking when he or she perceives the driver needs to pay attention,'' said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. ``They can be an extra set of eyes to spot hazards.''

Rader said early on, the biggest distraction posed by cell phones was thought to be when drivers take their hands off the steering wheel to dial, but research shows conversations are more dangerous.

``You're sort of going off into another place, not paying full attention to what is going on on the road.''

The organization is funded by auto insurers.

A California law that goes into effect in July 2008 will make it illegal for drivers to use hand-held wireless phones while driving. Speaker phones and hands-free headsets will be allowed. The fine for first-time offenders will be $20; thereafter, $50.

Pivetti originally said the goal of the red-light program was to change driver behavior. Smoldt says it has happened.

``Two years ago when a light turned green, you would have to stay stopped; you'd look to make sure cars were going to stop for the light,'' he said. ``Since the red-light cameras were installed, people are more aware of lights turning yellow and they are actually stopping for (them) the way they're supposed to.''

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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