During the month of April, the Lincoln City Police Department plans on utilizing traffic safety grant funds to put extra officers on duty for enhanced distracted driving prevention.

The month of April has been designated as the National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and LCPD’s enforcement efforts will occur in conjunction with distracted driving enforcement efforts conducted by other law enforcement agencies across the state and nation. The first enhanced enforcement operation is planned for April 7, with additional operations to follow during the month.

The police department says distracted driving is a dangerous behavior for drivers, passengers and non-occupants alike. Distracted driving is defined as a specific type of inattention that occurs when drivers divert their attention from the driving task to focus on some other activity instead. These enforcement efforts are designed to increase the number of law enforcement officers on patrol with an emphasis on seeking out drivers who are distracted by talking or texting on their cellphones or using other electronic devices while they are operating their vehicle. 

According to LCPD, the goal of these enhanced prevention efforts is to increase the safety of the residents and visitors of Lincoln City. Statistics show that from 2014-2018, there were 13,603 crashes involving distracted drivers in Oregon (all ages) resulting in 137 fatalities and 20,992 injuries. Nationally in 2019 ,there were 3,142 fatalities involving distracted driving.

The distracted driving prevention grant funds were made possible through the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Impact.