April
is National Distracted Driving Month and on April 30, 2018, the St. Mary’s
County Sheriff’s Office conducted traffic enforcement along the Three Notch
Road (Route 235) corridor from Great Mills Road to Route 4 in the Lexington
Park and California areas.
Sheriff’s
deputies made 17 stops and 19 citations were issued to drivers, including citations
for talking on cell phones, for suspended drivers licenses and for suspended or
expired registrations. Five citations were issued for speeding. One citation
was issued for a mutilated driver’s license and one warning was issued for
driving in a turn lane.
The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that distracted driving
took 3,450 lives nationwide in 2016 and 391,000 people were injured in 2015 in
motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.
“Distracted driving is any activity that
diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone,
eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the
stereo, entertainment or navigation system—anything that takes your attention
away from the task of safe driving,” according to the NHTSA.
The
St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office remains diligent in enforcing distracted
driving and encourages drivers to stay focused on the roads and driving
responsibilities.
