The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) Highway Safety Office recently announced that law enforcement this month will increase pull over to enforce texting and distracted driving laws.
“Everyone should understand the incredible risk of texting while driving,” Garrett Eucalitto, Connecticut Department of Transportation commissioner, said. “Taking your eyes off the road for a moment is all it takes to cause a crash and change lives forever. For the remaining days of October, our state will see an increased and highly visible law enforcement presence on our roadways with officers stopping and ticketing anyone driving distracted. If you have a phone in your hand, expect to be stopped and issued a ticket.”
Under Connecticut law, drivers who are 16 or 17 years old are prohibited from using a cell phone or mobile device while drivers 18 years old and older are prohibited from using of hand-held mobile devices.
Drivers are fined $200 for their first offense, $375 for their second offense, and $625 for their third and subsequent offenses.
In 2021, 3,522 were killed nationwide because of distracted driving, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
Last year, nearly 5,200 crashes in Connecticut were attributed to distracted driving.