CT DOT, state and local law enforcement crack down on distracted driving – Hartford Courant

Connecticut State Police have a message for drivers: Put down cell phones and electronic devices while behind the wheel.

This is a message shared by the East Hartford Police Department, with safety considerations.

The message, PD said, is this: “In partnership with state and local law enforcement, the Connecticut Highway Safety Office will increase its enforcement efforts on distracted driving laws from October 15-31, 2022.”

Beyond safety, the department noted, “Violating Connecticut’s distracted driving laws can be costly. Ticketed drivers are fined $200 for the first offense, $375 for the second offense and $625 for the third and subsequent offenses.”

“Drivers’ focus should be on the road, not on their phone,” Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti said in an East Hartford news release. “Beginning on October 15, the community will see an increased and highly visible police presence on our roads with officers stopping and ticketing anyone who is distracted driving. If you have a phone in one hand, expect to be holding a map in the other.”

“At any given time across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using or manipulating electronic devices while driving – a number that has held steady for more than a decade. In Connecticut in 2021, there were over 5,400 crashes attributed to distracted driving.”

“There are too many drivers using cell phones and other electronic devices,” Giulietti said, also in a statement. “It is wrong and illegal. No text message is so critical that it’s worth risking lives.”

For those unfamiliar: Connecticut law prohibits the use of hand-held mobile electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle, and drivers who are 16 or 17 years old “are prohibited from using a cell phone or mobile device at any time, even with a hands-free kit. ”

.