April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Naperville Police Department will be a partner with state and local agencies to remind motorists that if they drive with a phone in one hand, they can expect a ticket in the other.
Traffic fatalities are on the rise in Illinois and across the country. In fact, 10 individuals are killed each day in distracted driving crashes, contributing to the 37,000 persons killed in crashes on U.S. roadways in 2016, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Texting while driving distracts the driver visually, manually, and cognitively, putting everyone on the road at risk. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of driving blind at 55 miles per hour for the length of an entire football field. Drivers who send texts when behind the wheel more than double their odds of being involved in a crash.
The Naperville Police Department is committed to reducing easily preventable crashes caused by distractions, such as texting or talking on a cell phone, and will participate in both the Illinois Drop It and Drive program from April 16-30 and the Illinois Distracted Driving Awareness Week campaign during the week of April 23-28.
During these campaigns, motorists can expect to see increased patrols and enforcement zones in Naperville and across the state as officers will give tickets to drivers in violation of the State’s distracted driving laws. In Illinois:
• Law prohibits all drivers from texting and driving.
• Law prohibits all drivers from using a hand-held phone while driving.
• Law prohibits all teen drivers from using cell phones while driving.
In addition to traffic enforcement, Naperville Police will participate in education activities by visiting high school driver’s education classes to teach about the dangers of distracted driving and promoting safe driving through www.facebook.com/napervillepolicedepartment and www.twitter.com/napervillepd.
The Illinois Drop It and Drive program is funded with federal highway safety dollars administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The second annual Illinois Distracted Driving Awareness Week is a coordinated effort between the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP), AAA, the Illinois State Police, IDOT, IHSCDEA and nearly 300 local law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois. For more information, visit www.iddaw.org.
—Naperville Police Department
