Stearns County, St. Cloud Police Ramp Up Distracted Driving Enforcement in April

(KNSI) – Law enforcement agencies in central Minnesota have joined a statewide crackdown on distracted driving throughout April, with deputies and officers actively patrolling for violations as part of Minnesota’s Towards Zero Deaths initiative.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office announced increased patrols targeting drivers who use their phones, text, or engage in other distracting behaviors behind the wheel. The St. Cloud Police Department is participating in the effort as well.

The campaign is led by the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety and funded through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is also financing statewide advertising to raise public awareness.

Authorities are encouraging drivers to take simple steps before hitting the road: silence or stow their phones, program navigation in advance, pre-set radio stations, adjust mirrors and secure food and drinks. Parents are also urged to model attentive driving behavior for children riding along.

Minnesota’s hands-free cell phone law prohibits drivers from holding their phones while driving. That means no texting, scrolling social media, streaming video, or looking up information on a device, even if the phone is technically in hands-free mode.

Drivers are permitted to use voice commands or single-touch activation to make calls, send texts, play music, or navigate. Officials caution, however, that hands-free use is not necessarily distraction-free.

Penalties for violations start at $100 or more, including court fees, for a first offense and climb to $300 or more for subsequent offenses. Drivers who injure or kill someone as a result of distracted driving can face felony charges of criminal vehicular operation or homicide.

State data underscores why officials say the enforcement effort is necessary. Between 2020 and 2026, distracted driving was involved in 33,183 crashes in Minnesota, resulting in 162 fatalities and 888 serious injuries. In 2025 alone, at least 21 people were killed and 159 sustained serious injuries in distracted driving-related crashes.

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