Police Agencies Participate in the National Distracted Driving Awareness Month - “U Drive. U Text. U Pay.” Statewide Campaign Crackdown
The Milford Police Department along with the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office announced the continuation of “U DRIVE. U TEXT. U PAY.” – an effort to crackdown on motorists who choose to text, talk or otherwise distract themselves from the task of driving by using a hand-held mobile phone.
This effort is part of a larger campaign sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Milford Police Department is participating in this campaign by adding special patrols – aimed at catching distracted drivers – especially those on their phones. Members of our department will raise awareness while enforcing state laws regarding these illegal, irresponsible and dangerous behaviors that put users of our roadways at risk. Our goal is to reduce to number of motorists involved in distracted driving behaviors.
Under Connecticut’s cell phone and texting law, violations involve heavy fines, ranging from $150 for a first offense, $300 for a second violation, and $500 for each subsequent violation.
During a similar, month long campaign in April, The Milford Police Department completed a Distracted Driving High Visibility Enforcement Campaign, which resulted in 308 violations being addressed.
In 2013, 3,154 people were killed and an estimated additional 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. According to a 2014 special article in the New England Journal of Medicine, the risk of a crash or near-crash among novice drivers increased with the performance of many secondary tasks, including texting and dialing cell phones.
If you text and drive, we will see you, pull you over, and fine you. We’re serious about enforcing texting laws.
For more information about national distracted driving issues, visit www/distraction.gov