MEDIA RELEASE

CSUN Police’s ‘Hang It Up!’ Campaign Educates Drivers on New Cell Phone Laws

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., June 16, 2007) — "Hang It Up!" say Cal State Northridge police officers as they launched a campaign today to educate the university community about two new state laws on cell phones and driving.

The two-week effort is designed to raise awareness of the laws—one that prohibits all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle and the other that bans drivers under the age of 18 from using a cell phone, with or without a hands-free device, while operating a motor vehicle.

Beginning July 1, university police officers will join law enforcement officers across the state in cracking down on drivers who violate the new rules.

"Our aim is to be as informative as possible to educate the public of the new laws by implementing special enforcement efforts or programs that benefit the community," said Anne P. Glavin, chief of police for Cal State Northridge, about her department’s "Hang It Up!" effort.

For the next two weeks, university police officers will talk to drivers and pedestrians in and around the campus and distribute fliers to address many common questions and concerns about the new laws. Information can also be obtained by visiting CSUN’s Department of Public Safety at the southeast corner of Prairie Street and Darby Avenue.

The new laws impose fines for drivers who fail to use a hands-free device while talking on a cell phone. The base fine for the first offense is $20 and $50 for subsequent convictions. With the addition of penalty assessments, the fines can be more than triple the base fine amount.

"Hang It Up!" is the second traffic safety-related campaign university police officers have initiated in the past two years. "Project PED," which kicked off in 2006, focuses on pedestrian safety by cracking down on moving violations by drivers.