Newtown Police Plan Crackdown On Distracted Driving

Beginning May 30, the Newtown Police Department will conduct a three-week distracted driver/cellphone enforcement initiative. During this time period police will be increasing their efforts to enforce the cellphone and distracted driver laws. All areas of town including school zones, business areas, and residential streets will be patrolled.

Distracted driving can have fatal consequences. A 2007 National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration study found that 1.8 million drivers (11 percent) were using a cellphone. A 2008 Nationwide Mutual Insurance survey found that 81 percent of drivers admitted to using a cellphone while driving; 98 percent of those same drivers stated that they felt that they were safe drivers, and 45 percent of them stated that they had been hit or nearly hit by a driver using a cellphone.

NHTSA reports that in 2008 16 percent of all fatal crashes involved a distracted driver. The under-20-years-of-age group had the highest occurrence of distracted drivers. Twenty-one percent of all injury crashes involved distracted driving.

Studies have shown that drivers using cellphones are four times more likely to cause a crash than drivers who do not use cellphones while driving. The likelihood of someone using a cellphone while driving causing a crash has been equated to someone with a .08  blood alcohol level. This is the legal level of intoxication in Connecticut.