Weston,Redding, Easton Distracted Drivers: Police Say 'U Text, U Drive, U Pay'

WESTON, CT-- Weston, Redding and Easton Police Departments, along with many other departments in the area, are joining the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s “U DRIVE, U TEXT, U PAY” program to put an end to distracted driving.

During the month of April, police will have extra patrols on to look for cell phone and texting violations. Under Connecticut’s cell phone and texting law, fines range from $150 for a first offense, to $300 for a second offense and $500 for each additional offense.

• To sign up for our free newsletter and breaking news alerts for Weston, Redding and Easton, click here.
• Like Weston-Redding-Easton Patch on Facebook by clicking here

The Brookfield Police Department is also participating in the program and stated in a release that in 2014 over 3,000 people were killed and more than 430,000 were injured as a result of distracted driving which includes texting or talking on their phones while driving.

"The laws are well know for the most part. Connecticut has been ahead of the curve in terms of passing tough laws and enforcing them," said Brookfield Police Sgt. Peter Frengs.

"While this can be a difficult habit to break, the impacts this behavior can have are very real and result in crashes that have real impacts on people's lives."

Connecticut police department received funds to pay for the enforcement initiative through the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office.

For more information and statistics on distracted driving, click here.