What State Troopers Are Doing To Limit Distracted Driving

The Minnesota State Troopers are cracking down on distracted drivers.  State Trooper Sargent Jesse Grabow joined me on WJON.  He says he sees people everyday looking at their phones and holding their phone while driving, which is against the law.  Grabow explains State Troopers have a distracted driving enforcement campaign right now.  He says April is National Distracted Driving Awareness month.

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Grabow says the penalty is right around $150 for a first offense, which includes court fines and goes up from there with a 2nd violation.  He says don't look at your phone, it can wait... hands free driving is the way to go.  Grabow indicates distracted driving is one of the common factors when accidents occur.  He says when they examine all the fatal crashes in the state all to often distracted driving has played a role.  Grabow explains this is such a preventable thing.

Another common issue in Minnesota is impaired driving.  Grabow says this includes those under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or other controlled substances.  He indicates there will be extra enforcement addressing impaired driving this spring/summer.  Grabow says he encourages people to make smart choices and wants to emphasize proper education on the seriousness of impaired driving.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Sargent Jesse Grabow of the Minnesota State Patrol, it is available below.