April has been designated Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the first week in April is California Teen Safe Driving Week — and law enforcement officers and others across the state are taking both designations seriously.

The California Office of Traffic Safety, California Highway Patrol, Impact Teen Drivers and more than 200 police departments statewide, including Benicia’s, will use both education and increased enforcement to drive home the month’s slogan, “It’s Not Worth It.”

“Driving takes one’s full attention and any distraction can have deadly, dangerous consequences,” Benicia police Lt. Frank Hartig said, offering a vivid description of what driving and texting is like.

“Imagine driving for four or five seconds while blindfolded. That can be the effect of looking down to send a text message,” he said.

“In the average time it takes to check a text message — less than 5 seconds — a car travelling 60 mph will travel more than the length of a football field.”

Hartig said starting Wednesday and lasting all month, officers from police departments, sheriff’s offices and the CHP will provide public education through interviews, school visits and traffic safety presentations.

And they’ll also be increasing enforcement of laws designed to reduce distracted driving.

Wednesday and again April 15 are earmarked for special statewide “high-visibility enforcement days,” Hartig said, which will apply to all law enforcement agencies participating in the nationwide traffic safety campaign.

The best way to avoid getting stopped by a law officer, or to avoid more severe consequences, is to leave cell phones and other electronic devices alone.

“The urge to read and answer an incoming message when we hear the text sound can be almost overwhelming,” Hartig said.

He said the Office of Traffic Safety will be sending its own message, “Silence the Distraction,” through public service announcements aimed at getting drivers to turn off their phones while driving so they won’t be tempted.

“No text, call, or social media update is worth a crash,” OTS Director Rhonda Craft said. “With an average of less than a second to react to an urgent situation, drivers need to have all their attention on the roadway.”

Hartig said younger drivers are at an even greater risk.

During April’s first week, the focus will be on educating teenagers about their number-one killer, reckless and distracted driving, which he said is 100-percent preventable.

“People are realizing that everyday behaviors, such as texting or reaching for a dropped item, can be lethal when done behind the wheel,” said Dr. Kelly Browning, executive director of Impact Teen Drivers. “Each of us must drive responsibly, keeping full attention to the task at hand.”

Hartig added, “If you have teenagers in your family who are driving, make sure they understand the laws and what their responsibilities are as well.”

He said the goal of the April effort isn’t to issue tickets or pull over drivers.

“The collective goal with this month-long campaign is to change the behavior of all drivers,” he said. “That change begins with education.”