State troopers issued 135 citations for distracted driving at two points along the Kennedy Expressway in just 2-1/2 hours this morning, most of them drivers paying attention to their texting rather than the road, Illinois State Police said.
The citations were issued at target areas near Addison and Montrose avenues on southbound Interstate 90 between about 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., said State Police District Chicago Lt. David Byrd.
Texting while driving is illegal in Illinois, with citations carrying a $120 fine. While texting sometimes results in fatal accidents, it also often causes crashes that don't hurt anyone--but end up tying up traffic during rush hour.
"A lot of these minor fender-benders out there that we have, we ask what happened, and they say 'I was distracted,' and when we ask why," drivers have been send text messages, Byrd said.
Drivers were issued tickets and given information about the dangers of distracted driving, including sending text messages, Byrd said.
Although most of the citations Monday involved drivers using their cell phones, in one case, a driver was pulled over as he tried to take care of a morning grooming ritual.
"We had one incident, a subject who was shaving with an electric shaver," Byrd said.
Talking on a phone you are holding while driving will become illegal under a new law that takes effect Jan. 1.
Copyright 2013 - Chicago Tribune
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
