Oxford Police Department Participating in Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Although April is more than halfway over – law enforcement personnel are cracking down on motorists who are distracted with mobile phones while driving this month.

The objectives of the national high-visibility enforcement U Drive. U Text. U Pay. campaign are to: conduct intense enforcement of anti-texting laws, and couple the efforts with advertising, media, and social media outreach to let drivers know about the enforcement and convince them to obey the law.

“Driving and texting is not only irresponsible — it’s illegal,” Chief Joey East said. “We focus on educating people about the dangers of driving under the influence, but distracted driving is just as dangerous.”

Distracted driving statistics portray a grim picture: In 2014, an estimated 3,179 people were killed (10 percent of all crash fatalities) and an additional 431,000 were injured (18 percent of all crash injuries) in motor vehicle crashes involv¬ing distracted drivers.

“It’s not that complicated: If you text and drive, and we will see you, we will pull you over. We’re serious about enforcing distracted driving laws,” East said.

As in the past couple of years, OPD will be conducting their April Awareness traffic safety blitz. The officers will be checking for seat belts, proof of insurance, valid driver’s licenses, and compliance of distracted driving laws.

For more information on the U Drive. U Text. U Pay. campaign, visit Distraction.gov.

For more information, follow OPD on Twitter @OxfordPolice and Facebook or call the Oxford Police Department at 662-232-2400.

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Jeff McVay is a staff writer and graphic designer for Hottytoddy.com. He can be reached at jeff.mcvay@hottytoddy.com

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