Most motorists know it’s dangerous to use a hand-held cell phone or send text messages while driving. But it can be hard to wean ourselves from the handy little devices. A federal agency wanted to see whether a stepped up enforcement program in Hartford (including East and West Hartford) could make a difference.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) demonstration program combines dedicated law enforcement for a specific period of time with a media campaign to publicize the crackdown. The project, which has now completed two of four enforcement “waves,” appears to be successful. NHTSA reported a 56% drop in cell phone use and a 68% drop in texting between the program’s start in March 2010 and the end of the second enforcement period in late July. NHTSA considers an enforcement rate of 20 tickets per 10,000 people sufficient to change motorists’ behaviors in effective seat belt programs. The Hartford enforcement rate for cell phone violations was five times that.
But, according to NHTSA, “the intent of a high visibility enforcement campaign is not to issue tickets. Rather the intent is to deter drivers from engaging in that behavior in the first place.” “In other words,” the report continued, “if drivers violate a particular law, there should be a high certainty that they will receive a ticket.” More information on the study can be found at NHTSA's site.
