On Thursday, March 25th, 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 lunchtime (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.
Source: NPD
