Minnesota police ticketed more than 900 drivers last week during a statewide distracted driving crackdown.
As we mentioned on the blog earlier this month, Minnesota police announced that they would be conducting a special six-day distracted driving crackdown. Police said it was very important to conduct the added enforcement because distracted driving is the leading cause of all traffic accidents. Despite the warning that police would be out in full force, more than 900 Minnesotans still earned a citation for distracted driving during the last week, which is nearly twice the amount of offenders caught during last year’s crackdown, which lasted for an extra four days.
“The distracted driving campaign reveals an alarming number of people who are putting themselves and others in harm’s way,” Office of Traffic Safety Director Donna Berger said in a news release.
All Sorts of Distractions
You might think that distracted driving is just another way to say the driver was texting or tweeting behind the wheel, but as the crackdown revealed, drivers are taking part in a lot of different dangerous driving behaviors. According to the Minnesota State Patrol’s twitter account, which tweeted some of the odd driver behaviors, officers ticketed Minnesotans for the following actions behind the wheel:
- A 22-year old female was ticketed for driving in two lanes because she was putting on makeup while driving.
- A 26-year-old female was pulled over for having a cigarette in one hand and her phone in the other.
- A 30-year-old female was ticketed for checking her email on her phone while driving.
- A 31-year-old female said she was taking a picture of her hair to send to her friend.
- A 33-year old female was ticketed for eating an ice cream cone while driving.
- A 40-year-old female was ticketed for driving with her dog on her lap.
Women weren’t the only ones who were caught driving without their full attention on the road, as these men will prove:
- A 25-year-old male was pulled over and ticketed for listening to music with earbuds in both ears.
- A 29-year-old male was ticketed for playing the game “Last Frontier” on his phone while driving.
- A 38-year-old male was ticketed for steering with his knee while he used his hands to solve a math problem while driving.
- A 43-year-old male was cited for using his tablet while driving.
- A 54-year-old male was cited for eating shelled peanuts while driving. Trooper found him covered in shell casings.
- A 66-year-old male was cited for reading the paper while driving.
Minnesota State Patrol spokesperson Lt. Tiffani Nielson said all those drivers were putting pedestrians and other drivers at serious risk.
“If you’re driving your vehicle, you need to be focused on the road,” Nielson said. “There are hazards all around you while you’re driving, other vehicles, things that come out into the lane — animals, children, bicyclists — they are all things that are out there.”
So please, put the phone, newspaper and math problems away the next time you get behind the wheel. That said, if you are pulled over for distracted driving, do not admit to the action. Admission to the crime gives you no leverage if you decide to challenge the citation.
Related source: MPR News, Star-Tribune
