Texting, handheld phones: Distracted-driving crackdown coming in April

Next month, thousands of cops will fan out across California in a massive crackdown on drivers texting or talking on handheld phones.

And oh, will they be busy, as so many drivers just don't seem to care that these growing forms of distracted driving have been illegal for nearly five years. New data from police statewide show they issued 425,041 tickets last year for talking on handheld phones -- down about 35,000 from the previous year but still a 41 percent increase from 2009, the first full year of the cellphone ban. Numbers were much smaller for texting citations: 21,059 in 2012. But that's a 41.5 percent increase from the previous year and a stunning 640 percent surge since 2009. And it's texting that concerns police the most; it's more dangerous because it takes drivers' eyes off the road, and it's harder to ticket because it's easier to hide.