State traffic safety officials and law enforcement agencies are launching a distracted driving education campaign this week, anchored by increased enforcement on Thursday, April 19.
The effort, coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety, will include ramped-up patrols from nearly 400 city and county agencies, partnering with the state patrol.
Driver distraction is a contributing factor in one-quarter of all Minnesota vehicle crashes annually -- and has resulted in 208 deaths and nearly 26,000 injuries in the last three years.
In Minnesota, it is illegal for drivers to read, compose or send texts or emails, and access the Web on a wireless device while the vehicle is in motion or a part of traffic -- even at a stoplight or stop sign, or when stuck in traffic. It is also illegal for drivers under age 18 to use a cell phone at any time.
"While driving may seem like a routine activity for many of us, the road environment changes constantly and demands focus at all times," says Donna Berger, Office of Traffic Safety director. "We can't use our daily commutes to conduct other business while behind the wheel."
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Minnesota's "no texting" law was enacted in August 2008 and citations have increased each year: 2008 (five months), 93; 2009, 294; 2010, 518; and 2011, 784.
Distractions cause drivers to react more slowly to traffic conditions or events, such as a vehicle stopping or pulling out in traffic. A University of Utah study reports that using a cell phone while driving, whether hands-free or hand-held, delays a driver's reactions as much as having an alcohol-concentration level of 0.08 percent. And when texting, drivers take their eyes off the road for up to 4.6 out of every 6 seconds - equivalent to traveling the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking up.
Driver distractions also include reaching for items, fiddling with radio/music/vehicle controls, eating and drinking, dealing with rowdy passengers, grooming and more.
