By Chadron Police Department
Chadron — Local law enforcement officers in Chadron made 67 stops during the national U Drive. U Text. U Pay. high-visibility enforcement campaign that ran April 4-10. The campaign aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of Distracted Driving in Nebraska.
Of those stops, 11 motorists were issued citations for various offenses including speeding, stop signal violations, driving while revoked, and vehicle registration violations. Eight officers with the Chadron Police Department participated in the campaign.
There were 3,924 drivers involved in distracted driving crashes in Nebraska in 2020. 233 people lost their lives in traffic crashes and 19 of those fatalities were due to a distracted driving crash. 7,386 Nebraskan’s were seriously injured in a distracted driving crash in the past five years.
According to NHTSA, between 2012 and 2019, 26,004 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver. While fatalities from motor-vehicle crashes decreased slightly from 2018, distraction-related fatalities increased by 10%. NHTSA also reported that the number of deaths linked to driver distraction was 3,142 nationwide, or almost 9% of all fatalities in 2019. This represents a 10% increase over the year 2018, or 284 more fatalities. The distraction figure was the largest increase in causes of traffic deaths reported for 2019.
“We are seeing far too many injuries and deaths associated with texting, messaging, and other forms of distracted driving,” said Sgt. Young. “I’m glad the Chadron Police Department was able to focus in on this issue and to let drivers know that these behaviors are dangerous, illegal, and won’t be tolerated. Remember, if you’re driving, your hands need to be on the wheel, your eyes need to be on the road, and your concentration needs to be on the task of driving, all the time.”
While the high-visibility enforcement mobilization is over for now, the Chadron Police Department wants motorists to remember the dangers of texting and distracted driving beyond the enforcement effort. “My number one priority is ensuring our roads and streets are safe for everyone,” said Sgt. Young. “I only ask for every motorist to do their part to help me, however they can.”