Connecticut set to begin final distracted driving enforcement campaign

The fourth and final wave of the "Phone in one hand. Ticket in the other." pilot campaign to test the effectiveness of high-visibility enforcement for distracted driving will begin this weekend in Hartford, Connecticut, running from February 26th through March 4th. The program funded by the Department of Transportation started last spring in Hartford, as well as in Syracuse, NY, to test whether increased law enforcement and public advertising will help deter drivers from talking, texting, or checking email with a handheld cell phone when behind the wheel.

The previous three waves resulted in over 7,200 tickets given out for handheld cell phone use and texting in Hartford. Syracuse police wrote up 6,600 tickets. After the first two waves, handheld cell phone use dropped 56 percent in Hartford and 38 percent in Syracuse. Texting while driving was reduced by 68 percent in Hartford and 42 percent in Syracuse.

The final Syracuse wave will occur April 7-16th. Drivers heading through the Hartford or Syracuse areas on those dates will need to be aware that police will be out in force ticketing drivers for using cell phones behind the wheel.

Currently, nine states, plus the District of Columbia ban handheld cell phone use and 30 states plus the District of Columbia ban texting behind the wheel. In order for a national enforcement program to go in effect, all states will need to enact bans, but the results from this pilot will help to provide best practices for police to ticket these offenses and to educate other states or cities to enact their own campaigns.

For more on distracted driving, see our blog.