(KNSI) – The Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety says law enforcement officers wrote thousands of tickets in the month of April during a crackdown on distracted driving.
Local, county, and state agencies combined for 5,380 citations for violating Minnesota’s hands-free cell phone law. Officials say that is almost 2,000 more than the same effort a year ago.
OTS Director Mike Hanson calls the results disturbing. “Getting distracted behind the wheel for even a couple seconds can end with someone being seriously hurt or killed. What if that someone was your loved one? Put distractions away and make the roads safer for everyone.”
The Minnesota State Patrol – St. Cloud Region issued the second-most citations of any agency in Greater Minnesota at 168. Distracted driving is considered a factor in one out of 11 accidents over the past five years. It can be fatal. Between 2019 and 2023, Minnesota averaged 29 deaths per year in distracted driving collisions.
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