Vernon Police To Begin Major Crackdown On Texting While Driving

Press release from Vernon Police Department:

Oct. 2, 2020

The Vernon Police Department along with Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office will kick-off the October wave of “U DRIVE. U TEXT. U PAY” on October 1, 2020 in an effort to crackdown on motorists who chose to text, talk, or otherwise distract themselves from the task of driving by using a hand-held mobile phone.

Vernon PD is participating in this campaign by adding special patrols – aimed at catching distracted drivers – especially those on their phones.

This effort is part of a larger campaign sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Distracted driving has become a national epidemic—endangering passengers, adjacent vehicle occupants, motorcyclists and bicyclists, and nearby pedestrians. While we generally think of distracted driving as texting or talking on the cell phone, it can take many other forms: adjusting the radio station, applying makeup, eating, chatting with other passengers, or taking a sip of your drink can all distract a driver from the essential task of safe driving. Texting has become one of the most common, pervasive forms of distracted driving, and too many drivers are succumbing to this deadly—and often, illegal—habit.

Under Connecticut’s cell phone and texting law, violations involve heavy fines, ranging from $150 for a first offense, $300 for a second violation, and $500 for each subsequent violation.

As many as 50 law enforcement agencies including state and local police will take part in the mobilization to enforce Connecticut’s tough law that prohibits motorists from texting and/or using hand-held cell phones while driving. The crackdown will span October 1, 2020 through October 15, 2020.

Between 2012-2017, nearly 20,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver. According to NHTSA, there were 3,166 people killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2017. While this reflects a 9 percent decrease from 2016 to 2017, there is still much work to be done. In the last six years, 9.5 percent of all fatal crashes involved a distracted driver. Texting while driving has become an especially problematic trend among younger drivers. In fact, in 2017, 8 percent of people killed in teen (15-19) driving crashes died when the teen drivers were distracted at the times of the crashes.

This press release was produced by Vernon Police Department. The views expressed here are the author's own.