Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee Announces Results of Increased Efforts to Curb Distracted Driving
Targeted Media Campaign Generated Nearly 18,000,000 Impressions Statewide
More Than 17,355 Distracted Driving Tickets Issued During April
7,703 Tickets Issued Statewide for Distracted Driving During Operation Hang Up Enforcement Mobilization
The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) today announced law enforcement agencies throughout the state issued 67,162 tickets for various vehicle and traffic law violations, including more than 7,000 tickets for distracted driving and 1,511 tickets for impaired driving, during the Operation Hang Up statewide mobilization between April 7 and 14. The enforcement campaign is just one of several initiatives GTSC funds in support of its goal of achieving zero traffic deaths on New York’s roads.
“There’s a time and a place to be a multitasker and it’s not when you are driving,” said Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner and GTSC Chair Mark J.F. Schroeder. “Placing your phone on do not disturb or designating a passenger to handle calls and texts while you are driving is one way to reduce the dangers of distracted driving. The message is simple; it can wait. A call or text isn’t worth causing a crash.”
Operation Hang Up is a mobilization to deter, identify and cite distracted drivers during the month of April, which is Distracted Driving Awareness month nationally. The statewide initiative is funded, annually, by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee. Law enforcement officers issued 17,355 tickets throughout the month.
As part of the enforcement, law enforcement officers also targeted impaired driving, speeding and aggressive drivers across the state. Below is a breakdown of the total tickets that were issued during the specific mobilization campaign.
Violation | Number of Tickets |
|---|---|
Speeding | 11,282 |
Distracted Driving | 7,703 |
Seatbelt | 1,521 |
Impaired Driving | 1,511 |
Move Over | 369 |
Other Violations | 44,776 |
Grand Total | 67,162 |
To reinforce the enforcement efforts, GTSC rolled out a statewide media campaign, underscoring the dangers of distracted driving, with the theme that ‘A Distracted Driver is a Deadly Driver’. The campaign drew more than 17,700,000 million impressions through assets in both English and Spanish. The target audience was males aged 21-40 statewide, but with a larger focus on upstate. The campaign utilized Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and X, but also used other digital platforms such as Barstool, as well as streaming audio, to bring the messaging directly to that group. In addition, the campaign made use of video options at Thruway service areas, gas stations and some convenience stores to reach that audience when they were outside of their homes and cars.
Looking down for just a couple of seconds to check a text, change the radio station or even picking up a bottle of water means a vehicle will likely travel the length of a football field before the driver looks back up.
Crashes involving distracted drivers claimed nearly 3,300 lives across the United States in 2023, according to the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA). Distracted driving in some form, whether from using a cell phone to driver inattention to a distraction outside the car, was cited as a contributing factor in more than 300 fatal and personal injury crashes annually across New York State over the past five years, according to data compiled by the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR) at the University of Albany.
For more information about GTSC, visit GTSC's website or follow GTSC on Facebook and X.
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