When driving, the Geneva Police Department has a simple request: Keep your attention focused on the road because that latest text message or social media post can wait.

Geneva Police is joining forces with almost 300 state and local law enforcement agencies for Illinois’ inaugural Distracted Driving Awareness Week April 24 to 28 to highlight the dangers and consequences associated with these actions. Distracted driving occurs when motorists divert their attention from the road to texting, reading emails, communicating with friends on social media or talking on the phone without a hands-free device.

Distracted driving enforcement is always of great importance to the Geneva Police Department, but officers will be putting an even greater emphasis on these violations next week throughout the City.

“This behavior is extremely dangerous and poses a significant risk to the driver, their passengers and pedestrians,” Geneva Police Chief Eric Passarelli said. “Our goal in this enforcement is to educate those distracted drivers to prevent a tragic, life-altering accident. We greatly appreciate partnering with the public for this important safety effort.”

In 2016, Geneva Police cited 71 people for unlawful use of their phone or electronic device while driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• More than 3,400 people were killed and an estimated 391,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2015. That is a 9 percent increase in fatalities as compared to the previous year.
  
  
• About 10 percent of fatal crashes, 15 percent of injury crashes and 14 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle crashes in 2015 were classified as distraction-affected crashes.
  
  
• Texting while driving has become an especially problematic trend among millennials. Young drivers, 16 to 24 years old, have been observed using handheld electronic devices while driving at higher rates than older drivers since 2007.

SafetyServe.com is offering a short distracted driving online course, at no cost, during Distracted Driving Awareness Week to those who visit the Illinois Association of Chiefs Of Police Traffic Safety website.

Please help the Geneva Police Department and our law enforcement partners keep our roadways safe for everyone.