Law enforcers go after distracted drivers in Utah County

Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Mike Alexander speaks to a driver about his use of a cellphone while driving in Utah County on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2020. Seven Utah County law enforcement agencies participated in a distracted driving crackdown on Thursday. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

PROVO — Law enforcers in Utah County cracked down on distracted driving on Thursday.

For five hours starting at 8 a.m., approximately 40 officers from seven police agencies in Utah County participated in a distracted driving enforcement effort on I-15 from the Point of the Mountain to Springville.

Drivers who were texting, surfing social media, changing the music on their cellphones, or even putting on makeup, were pulled over, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

UHP Cpl. Mike Alexander said the final tally of vehicles pulled over was still being added up Thursday afternoon. But overall, he said, “it was a very successful effort.”

“We found a lot (of distracted drivers),” he said.

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

A driver uses his cellphone while driving in Utah County on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2020. The driver received a citation during a Utah County distracted driving crackdown.

In one case, a woman was pulled over twice during the same trip for using her phone while driving, Alexander said.

As part of the operation, officers in unmarked vehicles spotted violators on the road and then had the nearest marked patrol car pull that distracted driver over to give either a warning or a citation.

October is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and Thursday’s operation was to educate the public on distracted driving, he said. For example, talking on a phone or having a small dog on a driver’s lap are not violations by themselves. But if a driver is doing one of those and fails to use their turn signal or commits another traffic violation, then the phone or the dog constitute distracted driving, he said.

A first offense for distracted driving is a class C misdemeanor and a $100 fine. A second offense is a class B misdemeanor and the penalties steadily increases with each repeat offense, Alexander said.

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