Put the phone away or pay

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Department of Transportation is partnering with the Illinois State Police and local law enforcement agencies across the state during April, reminding the public to put their phones away and pay attention to the road. Throughout the month, additional law enforcement officers will be watching for texting, social media use, video viewing and other forms of distracted driving.

"Too many drivers think they can glance at a text, check a notification or scroll for a second and still drive safely," said Stephane B. Seck-Birhame, IDOT's bureau chief of Safety Programs and Engineering. "They cannot. Distracted driving takes eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and attention away from what matters most."

According to IDOT statistics, 253 people died and 28,271 people were injured in crashes involving distractions between 2020 and 2024 in Illinois. In 2024, 51 people were killed in crashes involving at least one distracted driver, accounting for 4.3% of all traffic fatalities that year.

Illinois law prohibits drivers from manually using an electronic communication device while operating a motor vehicle, including to text, stream video, participate in video conferences or access social media. Even legal hands-free use can still take a driver's attention off the road.

"We've all seen it while driving. The person in the car next to you or in front of you who keeps looking down at their phone, starts to drift into the next lane, only to jerk back at the last minute," said ISP Division of Patrol Col. Chris Owen. "Every day, ISP handles avoidable crashes caused by someone driving while distracted, many times because they were texting. No text is more important than your life. Don't drive distracted."

To help prevent distracted driving:

Put your phone on do not disturb or silence notifications before you drive. Ask a passenger to handle calls or messages if something cannot wait.

The traffic safety effort is a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaign focused on distracted-driving prevention. The heightened enforcement in Illinois is made possible through federal funds administered by IDOT and coincides with its comprehensive multimedia campaign "It's Not a Game."

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