Distracted driving campaign could cost CT drivers $500

Police departments around the state are cracking down on distracted drivers as part of the “U Drive. U Text. U Pay.” campaign for Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

News 12 Staff

•

Apr 4, 2019, 11:08 AM

•

Updated 2,088 days ago

Distracted driving campaign could cost CT drivers $500

Police departments around the state are cracking down on distracted drivers as part of the “U Drive. U Text. U Pay.” campaign for Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Police in several towns say they are participating in the campaign and will have more eyes on the roads to catch distracted drivers, thanks to a federal grant.

Since 2015, Connecticut saw nearly 30,000 crashes involving a distraction as the cause. Forty were deadly.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 20,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver from 2012 to 2017.

Police say drivers who get caught for being distracted face a first offense of $150. They say a second offense is $300, and a third could cost drivers $500 or more.

The campaign runs through the end of the April, but fines will remain the same even after the campaign ends.