Minnesota First Time Home Buyer Real Estate Blog

Minnesota Cracks Down on Texting & Driving

Texting and driving is a very dangerous game -- it causes drivers to be distracted thus making the roads even more dangerous. Minnesota is taking steps to crack down on drivers who use their phones while operating a vehicle.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is putting together plans to target distracted drivers, with state troopers, city police and county deputies on the lookout for those not giving their full attention to the road. Signs of distracted drivers are swerving, inconsistent speeds and drivers looking down into their laps. 

Drivers caught giving into distraction will be issued citations of $125 to $145. This extra enforcement will run until April 18th in an effort to get operators out of this bad driving habit. 

It is still legal for drivers to make calls while driving -- this crack down is on those texting or using the Internet while driving, even while stopped in traffic. Proving a driver is violating this law on their phone can prove tricky for officers -- but law enforcement can also write a moving violations for poor driving, whether it be from texting, a phone call or messing with the radio. 

This crack down is much needed as last year a quarter of crashes in Minnesota were caused by distracted driving -- one quarter. Imagine if drivers were fully immersed in operating their vehicles, accidents would drop by one quarter. 

I for one always get annoyed seeing drivers with their eyes in their laps, then up to the road, then back to their lap. This crack down will helpfully get drivers to focus on the task at hand -- operating their vehicle safely. 

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