Darien police will be looking for drivers using cell phones while behind the wheel as part of a larger distracted driving campaign taken up by various departments around the state, the Police Department announced.
The “Distracted Driving — High Visibility Enforcement Campaign” is meant to discourage drivers from using hand-held phones or any mobile electronic devices.
Drop It
These oval car magnets have been around for a few years.
“Texting while driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents,” police said in the announcement emailed Tuesday evening. Police Chief Raymond Osborne previously mentioned the campaign at town board meetings.
“All drivers, including adult, novice and school bus drivers, are prohibited from texting while driving.,” the announcement said. “Hand-held cell phones or mobile electronic devices may not be used while operating a motor vehicle in Connecticut.”
Adult drivers are allowed to use hands-free cell phones.
“Drivers under the age of 18 are not allowed to text or talk on a hand-held cell phone,” the announcement said. “In addition, novice drivers are prohibited from using any other electronic device while behind the wheel.”
Image from Darien P.D.
Watch out, if you’ve got your fingers or your ear touching your phone.
School bus drivers also have additional restrictions. They “are prohibited from using both hand-held and hands-free devices, except in emergencies.”
More police will be out on the roads watching for drivers on cell phones and will be paid overtime with a grant from the state Department of Transportation, Osborne said. They’ll be enforcing the law “with a heavy hand,” he said.
See also:
—Stay Off the Cellphone While Driving: Darien Police Step Up Distracted Driving Enforcement in August (July 28)
Image from EndDD.org
End Distracted Driving is a project of the Casey Feldman Foundation. Information in this image are from the project, based in Philadelphia.