U Drive. U Text. U Pay. Post Mobilization Information

The Ralston Police Department issued 44 citations during the national U Drive. U Text. U Pay. high-visibility enforcement campaign that ran April 4-10. The campaign aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of Distracted Driving in Nebraska.

There were 3,924 drivers involved in distracted driving crashes in Nebraska in 2020. 233 people lost their lives in traffic crashes and 19 of those fatalities were due to a distracted driving crash. 7,386 Nebraskan’s were seriously injured in a distracted driving crash in the past five years. According to NHTSA, between 2012 and 2019, 26,004 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver. While fatalities from motor-vehicle crashes decreased slightly from 2018, distraction-related fatalities increased by 10%. NHTSA also reported that the number of deaths linked to driver distraction was 3,142 nationwide, or almost 9% of all fatalities in 2019. This represents a 10% increase over the year 2018, or 284 more fatalities. The distraction figure was the largest increase in causes of traffic deaths reported for 2019.

While the high-visibility enforcement mobilization is over for now, the Ralston Police Department wants motorists to remember the dangers of texting and distracted driving beyond the enforcement effort. Next time you think about checking your phone when you’re driving, remember you are risking your life and the lives of everyone else on the road.  The text message, social media update, email can wait until you arrive at your destination.

For more information, visit www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/distracted-driving.