Newark Police to Conduct Distracted Driving Enforcement Campaign
On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, members of the Newark Police Special Enforcement Division, which includes both the Traffic and Special Operations Units, will conduct a one-day directed enforcement detail targeting distracted driving. Officers in the division will be patrolling specifically for distracted driving offenses, including using a cellular phone while driving and other inattentive driving behaviors.
Driving a vehicle while using a cellular phone can result in a civil penalty of $100. Subsequent offenses are punishable by a $200 civil penalty. More information can be found here.
According to the statistics:
- Cellular phone related crashes begin to increase in rate around lunch time (12:00 pm). This increase in rate continues with the sharpest rise during the evening rush hour. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of all distracted driving crashes occur from 3 pm – 7 pm.
- A driver who texts is 6 times more likely to crash than one who drinks.
- Cell phone related crashes trend young in Delaware. Fifty one percent (51%) of these crashes are caused by a person under the age of 30.
- Males account for 60% of crashes and females account for 40%.
- In 2019, 57% of distracted driving crashes occurred in New Castle County.
