Branford Police Release How Many People Received Distracted Driving Citations in April

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

BRANFORD, CT – Fifty-nine tickets for cell phone or distracted driving violations were handed out during the most recent reporting period, according to Police Chief Kevin Halloran.

Overall, there were 340 tickets handed out overall.

The Branford Police Department partnered with the Connecticut Highway Safety Office as part of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month to crack down on drivers who choose to ignore Connecticut’s mobile phone laws.

The joint spanned through the month of April and ended on April 30. Violating Connecticut’s distracted driving laws can be costly. Drivers who are ticketed for this violation can be fined $150 for a first offense, $300 for a second offense and $500 for third and subsequent offenses.

According to the NHTSA, 3,477 people were killed and an estimated 391,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2015. This is a 9-percent increase in fatalities as compared to the previous year.

An analysis by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety of 2009-2012 data found that while more than 80 percent of drivers believed it was completely unacceptable for a motorist to text behind the wheel, more than a third of those same drivers admitted to reading text messages while operating a passenger motor vehicle themselves.

Remind your family and friends to never text and drive:

Texting and driving is more than just personally risky. When you text and drive, you are a danger to everyone around you.

No one likes to be criticized by a friend for doing something wrong, but it’s even worse to get caught by law enforcement and have to pay a fine.

Don’t follow the pack, be a leader. When you get behind the wheel, be an example to your family and friends by putting your phone away.

Speak up. If your friends are texting while driving, tell them to stop. Listen to your passengers; if they catch you texting while driving and tell you to put your phone away, put it down.

For more information about national distracted driving issues, visit www/distraction.gov.