The Nevada Highway Patrol is coming down hard on distracted drivers. In fact, they are ticketing anyone who seems like they are not paying attention while they are in their car, even at a red light. Stephanie Fragoso learned this the hard way and ended up with a $200 ticket.
She said she was on the way to the Department of Motor Vehicles, on April 1. No, we are not making this up. After stopping at a red light she put on chapstick and put it away before the light turned green. When the light turned green she continued on her way, but a police officer pulled her over.
The police officer said she was being ticketed because her hands were not on the wheel. “[The ordinance] states that when a person is operating a vehicle they must provide full attention to the driving so that it won’t render that action to be unsafe,” Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Loy Hixson told KLAS.
Some of the examples Hixson shared of actual incidents include: People eating, women putting on makeup, men shaving, one lady was watching a movie on her iPad. The officer said he was sorry for the ticket, but he had to do it.
Do you know about Distracted Driving Laws in Colorado?
What is considered “distracted driving?”
Any activity that can divert your attention away from the primary task of driving.
- Anything that involves using your cell phone or smartphone
- Eating or drinking
- Engaging with passengers, kids or pets
- Shaving, applying make-up
- Reading a map
- Adjusting the radio, cd player or MP3 player
All of these activities can be easily, and safely taken care of by pulling the car over momentarily.
CDOT is committed to reducing fatal and injury crashes due to distracted driving. We support law enforcement statewide in efforts to step up enforcement on cell phone use and distracted driving and we work with local communities and safety organizations to help spread the word on the dangers of distracted driving.
