New York Begins New Push to Stop Distracted Driving

New York is launching a statewide campaign against distracted driving as part of April’s National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said state and local police will be stepping up patrols and checkpoints through Monday in Operation Hang Up. Last year’s effort resulted in more than 18,000 tickets, including more than 2,000 for distracted driving.

State officials say there was an increase of more than 900 percent in tickets for texting while driving in New York from 2011 to 2016. Tickets for cell phone use have been declining while tickets for texting are rising.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that nationwide in 2015, 3,477 people were killed and more than 391,000 were injured in accidents involving distracted drivers.