Police across southwestern Connecticut say they're cracking down on distracted driving.

Stamford police are part of the "U DRIVE, U TEXT, U PAY" initiative, a statewide crackdown.

According to police, residents will see more police patrolling roads in the next few weeks looking for people talking or texting on their cellphones while driving.

State officials say they ran a similar crackdown was in April, when they handed out more than 12,000 tickets.

Police say they believe these enforcements are effective and say tickets seem to be the only thing that gets drivers to break their bad habits.

"There are no warnings, everyone is getting a ticket. They've been warned. We had a four-week crackdown in April, this is another two weeks in August to reinforce that this is a serious offense and we are trying to stop you," says Sgt. Andrew Gallagher. "People do get hurt because people are not paying attention while behind the wheel."

A ticket will cost drivers $150 for their first offense, $300 for their second and $500 for every violation after that.

The initiative runs through Aug. 16.