Police join crackdown on distracted driving

Berkley Public Safety officers are joining a national effort this week to crackdown on distracted driving and raise awareness of the problem. The effort is part of the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s national campaign U Drive. U Text. U Pay. Millennials are some of the biggest textingwhile-driving offenders, officials said.

“Every week, we deal with drivers who don’t seem to get the message about distracted driving. Whether it’s accidents, slow response to traffic lights or overall danger to other motorists and pedestrians, it has to stop,” said Berkley Public Safety Director Matt Koehn in a statement. “We all know the dangers associated with distracted driving. It could be eating and drinking behind the wheel, using GPS, talking to other vehicle passengers, or using your cell phone, it’s all dangerous when you’re driving.

Koehn added the department is determined to do its part to keep Berkley safe.

Statewide, there were 18,096 distracted driving crashes, with 70 fatalities, in 2019, according to Michigan State Police figures. Drivers between the ages of 16 to 24 have used hand-held electronic devices at higher rates than older drivers since 2007, according to the NHTSA. The agency’s figures show nine percent of people killed in teen crashes in 2019 died when teen drivers were distracted with devices while driving. Berkley Lt. Andrew Hadfield said that starting

Thursday motorists will see increased efforts targeting distracting driving.

“We are not trying to rack up citations,” he said in a statement, “we are trying to save lives. If you text and drive you will pay.”

Though people know distracted driving is dangerous, many think they can get away with it, or make a quick text reply without consequences, Hadfield said.

Distracted driving tickets in Michigan can run about $220 and increase for a second offense, or if the violation is associated with other traffic offenses. For more information visit trafficsafetymarketing.gov online.