By Sgt. Troy Christianson
Minnesota State Patrol
Question: I spend a fair amount of time on the road and I see a lot of drivers on their cell phones. What are you guys doing about it?
Answer: Right now, to help change dangerous driving behaviors, law enforce-ment agencies statewide are participating in a distracted driving enforcement campaign April 1 – 30. We’ve been doing this for several years now as April is “national distracted driving awareness month.” Along with enforcement, we continue to put this information in newsprint, radio, TV and social media.
No one intends to seriously injure or kill someone by driving distracted, but good intentions alone don’t prevent crashes. Smart choices do. In Minnesota, distracted driving contributed to more than 39,000 crashes from 2017-2021 and an average of 28 deaths and 161 serious injuries each year.
Drive smart and keep yourself and others safe by parking the phone, avoiding distractions and paying attention. Visit HandsFreeMN.org and DriveSmartMN.org for more information.
You can avoid a ticket — and a crash — if you simply buckle up, drive at safe speeds, pay attention and always drive sober. Help us drive Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths.
If you have any questions concerning traffic related laws or issues in Minnesota send your questions to Sgt. Troy Christianson – Minnesota State Patrol at 2900 48th Street NW, Rochester, Minn. 55901-5848. Or reach him at Troy.Christianson@state.mn.us.