The Milford and Orange police departments will be out in force from April 2 to April 30 looking for distracted drivers as part of the “U Drive. U Text. U Pay.” campaign, a high-visibility effort to enforce distracted-driving laws.
The departments are teaming up with the Connecticut Department of Transportation during the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Distracted Driving Awareness month to make sure all motorists keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.
Violating Connecticut’s distracted driving laws can be costly. Drivers who are ticketed for this violation can be fined $150 for a first offense, $300 for a second offense and $500 for third and subsequent offenses.
According to the NHTSA, 3,450 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2016. This is a 2 percent decrease in fatalities as compared to the previous year.
An analysis by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety of 2009-2012 data found that while more than 80 percent of drivers believed it was completely unacceptable for a motorist to text behind the wheel, more than a third of those same drivers admitted to reading text messages while operating a passenger motor vehicle themselves.