Distracted Driving Citations On The Rise In St. Charles

ST. CHARLES—St. Charles police said they have seen an uptick in distracted drivers this year, citing 35 drivers for the violation during an month-long campaign to catch violators.

The St. Charles Police Department teamed-up with the state of Illinois this April to crack down on drivers using mobile devices while behind the wheel. During the distracted driving campaign officers worked night and day in hopes of catching violators and reducing the number of crashes occurring as a result.

“We saw a large uptick in drivers violating the state's distracted driving laws this year as opposed to previous years' similar campaigns,” said Commander Rich Clark. “Officers working the extra details stated drivers were often blatantly texting or manipulating their cell phones.”
During the April campaign St. Charles police wrote:

• 35 citations for distracted driving.
• 26 citations for speeding.
• 10 citations for other offenses.
• 1 citation for an unsecured back seat child.
• 4 drivers were arrested for either driving while license suspended or revoked.
• There were also 11 warnings citations issued for a variety of driving infractions.

“With roadway deaths on the rise in Illinois and the nation since the pandemic began, we want to make sure drivers are focusing their attention on the road and getting to their destination safely,” Clark said.

The Distracted Driving /Click It or Ticket/Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilizations are made possible with federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.