Southington Police Launch Effort to Catch 'Distracted Drivers'

SOUTHINGTON, CT - The Southington Police Department is partnering with the Connecticut Highway Safety Office to crack down on distracted drivers, officials announced.

The effort is part of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which kicks off on April 4 and runs through April 30, and will ramp up again in August from the 3rd to through the 16th.

Distracted drivers are people who use cell phones or other devices while behind the wheel, and fines for those caught participating in such behavior are steep.

In Connecticut, a first offense will cost $150, a second $300, and a third - and subsequent offenses - cost $500.

“The laws are well known for the most part,” said Southington Police Chief Jack Daly in a statement. “Connecticut has been ahead of the curve in terms of passing tough laws and enforcing them, and while this is a difficult habit to break, the impacts this behavior can have are very real and result in crashes that have real impacts of people’s lives. This is why we have to continue to go out and enforce the law.”

In 2014, an estimated 3,179 people were killed (10 percent of all crash fatalities) and an additional 431,000 were injured (18 percent of all crash injuries) in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in the United States.

Last year, Connecticut law enforcement officers wrote more than 22,000 citations for distracted driving, as part of the 2015 effort.

“While some people may have gotten the message to put down the phone, we all know we still see people every day who choose to ignore the Connecticut law, and put themselves and others of the road at risk,” added Daly. “If we continue to ratchet down on use over time, we can prevent needless crashes from happening, and people from getting injured or killed – that’s what it’s all about.”

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