April 6, 2022 3:30 a.m.

Roseburg Police Department is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the national U Drive. U Text. U Pay. high visibility enforcement effort, Thursday through Monday.

Sergeant Daniel Allen said during this time law enforcement officers from across the country will work together to enforce texting and distracted driving laws to make roads safer for all users.

Allen said according to the NHTSA, between 2012 and 2019, over 26,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver. While fatalities from motor vehicle crashes decreased slightly from 2018, distraction-related fatalities increased by 10 percent. NHTSA also reported that the number of deaths linked to distraction was 3,142 nationwide, or almost nine percent of all fatalities in 2019. This represents a ten percent increase over 2018, meaning 284 more fatalities. The distraction figure was the largest increase in causes of traffic deaths reported for 2019.

Allen said millennials and Generation Z are the most distracted drivers, often using their cell phones to talk, text and scroll through social media while behind the wheel.

The RPD release said during this campaign, if you text, you will pay.

Violating Oregon’s distracted driving laws can be costly. The first conviction for operating a motor vehicle while using a mobile electronic device is a Class B Violation. The second conviction within a ten-year period is a Class A traffic violation. The third conviction within 10-years preceding the date of the current conviction is a Class B Misdemeanor.

For more information on the campaign, go to: https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/distracted-driving