Department of Public Safety Starts Campaign To Stop Distracted Driving

By Dennis Lambert
Published: Thursday, February 19, 2015 - 11:48am

You may want to lay off the texting and driving. The Department of Public Safety is looking for you with a campaign that at the least could cost you some extra time.

Spokesman Bart Graves said DPS deals with distracted driving every day, but it has begun an educational campaign to target the problem on the state’s highways. And, he said, it’s not just texting or using the cellphone that is at the root of the problem.

“People don’t pay attention to how fast they’re going and then create a secondary collision," Graves said. "I’ve seen people actually stop on the highway to look at a crash. I mean, there’s all kinds of distractions involved in distracted driving.”

Graves said DPS is not alone in the effort. The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is also kicking in money to help with the agency’s effort to educate driver’s about staying alert while they’re behind the wheel.