The federal and state governments have granted Syracuse $300,000 for a pilot program to boost law enforcement of distracted-driving laws prohibiting texting or talking on a cell phone while driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Thursday at 2 p.m. in Schine Student Center.

The two-year program is active immediately and will affect Syracuse University students who text while driving, said Tony Callisto, chief of the Department of Public Safety.

“Police in the Syracuse area are looking for people breaking distracted-driving laws,” Callisto said. “There will be zero tolerance. If someone is found, they will be issued a ticket.”

Funding for the program will provide for the overtime pay of state troopers, Onondaga County Sheriff’s deputies and police at the Syracuse Police Department patrolling for distracted-driving offenses, Callisto said. The federal government is providing $200,000 to Syracuse-area police, and the state has contributed $100,000.

Syracuse is only one of two cities chosen to participate in the pilot, which will also entail public awareness advertisements and studies to see how well the efforts change behavior and attitudes. The other city chosen was Hartford, Conn.

Callisto compared the new program cracking down on driving distractions to police campaigns such as “Stop DWI” and “Click it or Ticket.”

Twenty years ago seat belt use was approximately 20 to 30 percent in New York, despite laws enforcing them, Callisto said. But after instituting “Click it or Ticket,” a statewide public awareness campaign to ensure people wear seat belts, that number has risen to around 90 percent, he said.

“Once there was some money for strict enforcement, people understood they didn’t have a choice,” he said.

Although DPS is not receiving any of the public funding, Callisto said DPS officers are enforcing the law as well.

LaHood’s announcement said the U.S. Department of Transportation chose Syracuse because there is very good coordination between the various police departments in the area, Callisto said.

“They work so well together, they thought this was a great spot to eliminate the use while driving,” Callisto said.

Plans to have LaHood give the announcement at SU have been in the works for several weeks, Callisto said. In addition to LaHood, Gov. David Paterson was also at SU for the announcement, according to an article in The Post-Standard.

Mercedes Garcia, a sophomore psychology and Italian major, drives her car on campus and said based on experience, texting while driving is dangerous.

“I’ve done that and it’s a mess,” Garcia said. “Talking on a speaker phone is just like talking to someone in the car. But you need to keep your eyes on the road. Texting is actually dangerous.”

Callisto thinks the program might help raise concerns about pedestrian safety in particular because pedestrian traffic is especially high in Syracuse, he said. The high volume of students who text while walking across the street makes the issue of distraction even more important to address, he said.

“The public streets are used more by pedestrians during the day and evening,” Callisto said. “Distracted drivers create a significant threat. We’re lucky more accidents haven’t happened.”

 

Published on April 11, 2010 at 12:00 pm