PORT JERVIS – The City of Port Jervis Police Department will join law enforcement agencies nationwide April 8-12 to remind drivers about the dangers and consequences of texting and distracted driving.
The annual campaign is part of the U.S. Transportation Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s U Drive. U Text. U Pay. High-visibility enforcement effort.
The Port Jervis Police Department will be deploying high visibility patrols throughout the enforcement wave with a state grant to enforce the vehicle and traffic laws pertaining to texting and distracted driving to reduce crashes.
According to federal statistics, between 2012 and 2019, 26,004 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver. While fatalities from motor vehicle crashes decreased slightly from 2018, distracted-related fatalities increased by 10 percent.
Many drivers are guilty of a double standard when it comes to distracted driving.
In 2018, the AAA Foundation reported that while nearly 96 percent of drivers believed it was very or extremely dangerous to read a text or email while driving, four out of 10 drivers admitted to doing so within the previous 30 days.
