Police Stepping Up Distracted Driving Patrols This Week

MERCER ISLAND, WA - More than two dozen King County police departments will be out in force this week looking for distracted drivers - and looking to hand out some extra tickets.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) is using the occasion to promote its “U Text, U Drive, U Pay” campaign.

Distracted driving can take many forms - eating, grooming, and, yes, even reading a book - but police are especially looking for texting drivers this week. It's illegal in Washington state to text - obviously - but also illegal to hold your phone to your ear while driving. The violation will cost you $136.

But texting and driving could end up costing you much more. In 2015 alone, almost 400,000 people in the U.S. were injured in an accident connected to distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; nearly 3,500 died.

Just last week, a man driving a pickup truck in Texas crashed into a bus carrying a church group. Thirteen people died, and the driver of the pickup admitted that he had been texting before the crash.

“This show of force calls attention to the public safety threat posed by drivers being distracted by texting or talking on their phones,” WTSC program manager Angie Ward said in a press release. “We want drivers to understand that you can operate a car. Or you can operate your phone. But you can’t be safe and do both at once.”

Nearly 150 police departments around the state are taking part in this week's emphasis patrols; the WTSC is paying for it.

In King County, the following departments are participating in this week's patrols:

• Algona Police Department
• Auburn Police Department
• Bellevue Police Department
• Black Diamond Police Department
• Burien Police Department
• Clyde Hill Police Department
• Covington Police Department
• Des Moines Police Department
• Enumclaw Police Department
• Federal Way Police Department
• Issaquah Police Department
• Kent Police Department
• Lake Forest Park Police Department
• Maple Valley Police Department
• Mercer Island Police Department
• Newcastle Police Department
• Normandy Park Police Department
• Pacific Police Department
• Port of Seattle Police Department
• Redmond Police Department
• Renton Police Department
• Sammamish Police Department
• SeaTac Police Department
• Seattle Police Department
• Shoreline Police Department
• Snoqualmie Police Department
• Tukwila Police Department
• Washington State Patrol District 2

Image via LM Otero/Associated Press