East Hartford Police To Begin Major Crackdown On Texting While Driving

EAST HARTFORD, CT – The East Hartford Police Department, along with the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office, today announced the kick-off 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 handheld mobile phone.

This effort is part of a larger campaign sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) – who deems the month of April, national distracted driving
awareness month. East Hartford Police Department is participating in this campaign
by adding special patrols – aimed at catching distracted drivers – especially those on
their phones.

“Driving and texting is illegal and irresponsible. People who break our State’s texting law
will be stopped and fined. If you drive and text, you will pay,” said Sgt. Mike DeMaine.
“For those who say that driving and texting is an epidemic, we believe enforcement of
our hand-held mobile phone ban law is part of the cure.”

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.

As many as 50 law enforcement agencies including state and local police will take part in the mobilization to enforce Connecticut’s tough law that prohibits motorists from texting
and/or using hand-held cell phones while driving. The crackdown will span the entire
month of April. During a similar, three week campaign last September, over 7,000
motorists received a citation for using their phone while driving.

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.

Police will be keeping an especially close eye out for drivers who text and drive. “Texting
and driving requires motorists to take their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, and
mind off the task of driving. It creates the proverbial ‘perfect storm’ for a crash, and no
one has the right to put another person’s life at risk like that,” said Sgt. Mike DeMaine.

Connecticut remains the only state in the nation to receive special distracted driving
prevention funds – the same funds that allow for special patrols to identify, stop and cite
drivers who choose to ignore distracted driving laws. Over $4.6 million dollars has been
awarded to the state over the last two years specifically – to fund campaigns like this
one. Connecticut qualifies for this federal funding source through a mix of tough laws –
and, a proven track record in strong enforcement of distracted driving laws.

“It’s not that complicated: if you text and drive, we will see you, pull you over, and fine
you. We’re serious about enforcing texting laws,” said Sgt. Mike DeMaine.

For more information about national distracted driving issues, visit www/distraction.gov.