Washington County To Crack Down On Texting While Driving This Week

Deputies are embarking on a nationwide crackdown on texting while driving.

Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder announced that from Monday, April 13 through Sunday, April 19 deputies in unmarked vehicles will record and ticket motorists who are texting while driving on roads throughout Washington County.

The stepped up enforcement is timed to coincide with participating law enforcement agencies across the country in the second annual national texting enforcement crackdown – U Drive. U Text. U Pay.

Helder said 3,154 people were killed and 424,000 injured nationwide in 2013 in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.

The University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute’s “Teen Driver Distraction Study” reports that one-fourth 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.

For more information, contact Lieutenant Scott Young at 479-444-5736, or visit www.distraction.gov.