Why There Will Be Even More Police On New York State Roads in April

The month of April has been proclaimed as Distracted Driving Awareness Month in the state of New York.

New York State police will be paying extra close attention for distracted drivers during the month of April, by stepping up patrols and checkpoints targeting drivers on electronic devices.

And while New York was first the state in the country to ban cellphone use while driving according to NBC, we still don't rank very well when it comes to distracted driving-related crashes.

Statistics 

SI Live says that QuoteWizard analyzed crash data from 2017 to 2021, and determined New York was the 9th worst state for road fatalities caused by distracted driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 3,142 Americans died in car crashes involving a distracted driver in the year 2020 alone.

Operation Hang Up 

NBC says that New York State Police will initiate Operation Hang Up during the month of April, to ticket those using their cellphones, or not paying attention to the roads. CBS says that the crackdown will run from April 1 through April 8.

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State Police issued around 70,000 tickets during the 2023 campaign, with more than 2,600 of those tickets being for distracted driving, reports NBC.

The Governor's Traffic Safety Committee says that distracted driving is the leading cause of crashes o nthe roads in New York state. In 2001, New York became the first state in the nation to ban hand-held cell phone use while driving, says the Committee.

In 2011, a law was signed that made texting while driving a primary offense and increased the number of driver violation points from 2 to 3. Driver violation points were then further raised from 3 to 5 for offenses committed on or after June 1, 2013, according to the Governor's Committee 

See Also: Does New York State Have the Worst Drivers in the Country?