In Westchester, NY police are cracking-down on distracted driving. From Friday and lasting through Wednesday, April 15 as part of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month they will be out in force making the roads safer and aggressively handing out tickets to those breaking the law during Operation Hang Up.

Distracted driving offenses included talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device while driving, texting or using an electronic device while driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,154 people were killed and 424,000 were injured nationwide in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2013. Additionally, ten percent of all fatal accidents involved a driver who was identified as distracted at the time of the crash.

Current New York State law includes the following penalties for distracted drivers:

For a first offense, the minimum fine is $50 and the maximum is $200
A second offense in 18 months increases the maximum fine to $250
A third offense in 18 months results in a maximum fine of $450
Probationary and junior drivers face a 120-day suspension of their license for a first offense, and one-year revocation of their permit or license if a second offense is committed within six months.

You can always take our online class to learn more about distracted driving and how not to become a victim of it!

So hang up the phone and let the texts wait and as always DRIVE SAFE!!