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During the campaign, which runs from Wednesday through Aug. 15, officers will be cracking down on motorists who text, talk or distract themselves with a hand-held mobile phone while driving.
“Texting and driving is a public safety crisis. Our mission is to save lives and protect the public. Enforcing texting and driving laws is a critical priority for our department,” said Assistant Chief Thomas Wuennemann.
During the first wave of this campaign, in April, more than 10,000 citations were issued to motorists who chose to ignore Connecticut’s distracted driving laws.
Stamford Police Department also plan to mobilize by adding special patrols aimed at catching distracted drivers – especially those on their phones.
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.
In 2016, there were 3,450 distracted driving-related deaths and in 2015 an estimated 391,000 were injured in distracted driving motor vehicle crashes nationally.
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