Police will crack down on drivers who text | Collierville Independent

Local motorists will be reminded that from April 10-15 law enforcement personnel will be using a combination of traditional and innovative strategies to crack down on motorists who text while driving.
The effort is a part of the national U Drive. U Text. U Pay. high-visibility enforcement campaign that combines periods of intense enforcement of anti-texting laws with advertising and media outreach to let people know about the enforcement and convince them to obey the law.
“People need to know that we are serious about stopping this deadly behavior,” said Collierville Police Chief L. E. Goodwin. “Driving and texting has reached epidemic levels, and enforcement of our state texting law is part of the cure.”
In 2012, there were 3,328 people killed and 421,000 injured nationwide in distraction-affected crashes. The University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute reports that a quarter of teens respond to a text message once or more every time they drive, and 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit that they have extended, multi-message text conversations while driving.
“When you text while driving, you take your eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, and mind off the task of driving,” said Collierville Assistant Police Chief Jeff Abeln. “That puts everyone else’s lives in danger, and no one has the right to do that.”
The campaign is national in scope. States that applied and have primary enforcement of their text messaging laws were awarded approximately $8 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to support this and other efforts designed to fight distracted driving.
The enforcement blitz is also supported by an $8.5 million national advertising campaign, designed to raise awareness about the enforcement effort and remind people about the deadly consequences of driving and texting.
For more information, visit www.distraction.gov