Connecticut reports that 5,000 crashes in 2020 were caused by distracted drivers, prompting officials to take action.

“We want to make it steeper than what it currently is because obviously our current law aren’t doing the trick,” says State Sen. Will Haskell (D-CT).

On Oct. 1, penalties for texting and driving increased.

First violation offenders will now pay $200, up from $150.

For a second violation, the penalty increased from $300 to $375.

Third violation and beyond has the biggest increase. Formerly $500, violators will be fined $625.

Bridgeport native Tony Bavedas lost his wife after she was hit by a car while she was walking her dog in Palm Beach more than two years ago. He’s hoping the new fines will be high enough “so people just don’t do it.”

State and local police say they will be cracking down and enforcing the new penalties.

“It only takes a split second of looking away from the road to make a mistake,” says Haskell. “That mistake, in many ways, can be fatal…for yourself or a cyclist or a pedestrian on the road.”