More Than 6,000 Tickets Were Written for Distracted Driving During April’s Enforcement Campaign

(KNSI) — Police officers across Minnesota handed out 6,450 tickets last month to drivers who were using their phones while driving. That’s 1,000 more tickets than last year and 3,000 more than in 2023.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety coordinated the statewide campaign with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as police departments across the state worked together on the month-long effort throughout April to make roads safer. They got creative in how they spotted drivers on their phone, including the use of special cameras to see the road from above and using tall bucket trucks to look down into cars.

The St. Paul Police Department wrote the most at 1,326 tickets. The Minnesota State Patrol’s St. Cloud area issued 221. The St. Cloud Police Department handed out 110 citations. The Wright County Sheriff’s Office wrote 101 tickets.

“We are not out to write tickets – we’re out to save lives. But if drivers won’t take safety seriously, enforcement becomes necessary.” said Mike Hanson, director of the OTS. “Every time you take your eyes off the road, you’re gambling with your life and the lives of others around you. No text, no call is worth a tragedy. Just put the phone down — nothing is more important than getting home safely.”

“Hands-free” means a driver can’t hold their phone while operating a vehicle in a traffic lane. Even in hands-free mode, it is still illegal to check social media, make or take video calls, watch videos, look up sports scores, or search for information.

Between 2019 and 2024, police wrote more than 115,000 tickets for distracted driving. The DPS says in 2024, at least 29 people died and 137 were seriously injured because of distracted driving.

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