New Canaan Police are boosting distracted driving enforcement this summer, concentrating on roads that see a high number of accidents and complaints, officials said.
New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski
Those include South Avenue, Oenoke Ridge Road, Route 123 and Silvermine Road but center mainly on downtown New Canaan, “where we are concerned about people being distracted where pedestrians are crossing the road,” according to Police Chief Leon Krolikowski.
Asked about the prevalence of distracted driving in New Canaan, Krolikowski said “it’s gotten better over a few years, but it’s nowhere near where it should be.”
On Thursday morning, police in a short period of time stopped nearly 20 distracted motorists using cellphones and smartphones, many of whom received infraction summonses, he said.
The comments come after a recent Police Commission meeting where Capt. John DiFederico reported that police could dedicate scores of officers to distracted driving enforcement and “do it all day long, it’s sad but they would have more violations than they could stop.”
DiFederico said he planned to study whether distracted driving enforcement has an impact on accidents, with an aim of achieving voluntary compliance at the same rate—91 percent—that New Canaan sees in seatbelt use.
Krolikowski has referred to distracted driving as the number one, major motor vehicle threat facing New Canaan. Here’s a column from the chief that details what constitutes distracted driving and the consequences of such under state law.