Law enforcement officers across Minnesota issued 6,450 hands-free cell phone citations during a month-long distracted driving enforcement campaign.
The number of tickets handed out in the April campaign was 1,000 more than last year’s initiative.
“We are not out to write tickets – we’re out to save lives,” said Mike Hanson, director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).
“But if drivers won’t take safety seriously, enforcement becomes necessary,”
“Every time you take your eyes off the road, you’re gambling with your life and the lives of others around you. No text, no call is worth a tragedy. Just put the phone down — nothing is more important than getting home safely.”
OTS coordinated the statewide campaign with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety.
The St. Paul Police Department issued the most citations, with 1,326. Across the state, law enforcement used a variety of visible and proactive methods to identify distracted drivers. In South Lake Minnetonka, officers use a new camera system to give law enforcement a bird’s eye view of the road, while Dakota County law enforcement got up in cherry pickers to see in cars and identify drivers on their phones.
