Wilton Police Cracking Down on Distracted Driving

WILTON CT -- The Wilton Police Department, along with the Connecticut Department of Transportation's Highway Safety Office, has announced today the continuation of the "U DRIVE. U TEXT. U PAY." campaign. Through this initiative, officers will be cracking down on motorists who text, talk, or distract themselves with a hand-held mobile phone while driving.

"Texting and driving is a public safety crisis. Our mission is to save lives and protect the public. Enforcing texting and driving laws is a critical priority for our department," said Lt. Rob Kluk. "Starting August 1, the community will see an increased and highly visible law enforcement presence on our roadways with a focus on safety. Our officers will be stopping and ticketing anyone who is endangering the public due to texting and driving. If you text and drive, you will pay."

During the first wave of this campaign, in April 2018, more than 10,000 citations were issued to motorists charged with violating Connecticut's distracted driving laws, the police said in a release.

The second run of this two-part campaign will go from August 1-15. Throughout the campaign, Wilton police will add special patrols aimed at catching distracted drivers - especially those on their phones. Over 50 law enforcement agencies, including both state and local police, who were previously involved in the April 2018 campaign, will again be participating.

The special patrols that will be running during this campaign are funded by Connecticut's special distracted driving prevention funds. Over $9.1 million has been awarded to the state over the last three years specifically to fund campaigns like this one.

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

In 2016, there were 3,450 distracted driving related deaths and in 2015 an estimated 391,000 were injured in distracted driving motor vehicle crashes nationally, according to the Wilton police.