St. Charles Police Focus On Distracted Driving During April Detail

ST. CHARLES, IL — The results are in from a recent distracted driving awareness campaign in St. Charles.

During April, the St. Charles Police Department teamed up with law enforcement agencies from across Illinois to step up patrol efforts with the goal of raising awareness regarding distracted driving.

During the month-long campaign, the St. Charles Police Department issued 42 tickets for distracted driving, nine tickets for speeding and eight citations for other offenses. Police also cited one person for not wearing a seatbelt in the front seat, according to the news release.

In addition, officers arrested three for driving with a suspended or revoked license and handed out 16 warning citations for various driving infractions.

“We continue to witness drivers violating the state’s distracted driving laws which can be very dangerous” said St. Charles Police Department Commander Rich Clark. “Officers working the extra details stated some drivers were often blatantly texting or manipulating their cell phones even when they saw an Officer driving next to them. We want to make sure drivers are focusing their attention on the road and getting to their destinations safely. Distracted driving has quickly become one of the biggest contributors to crashes that we investigate.”

Police remind drivers that unless they are in an emergency situation or calling 911 they should not be using their phone. Several phone carriers even provide an option for drivers to block calls and texts while driving in an effort to discourage unsafe distracted driving habits, authorities said.

The Distracted Driving /Click It or Ticket/Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilizations are made possible with federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.