The Ridgefield Police Department issued 21 tickets in town on Friday, March 28, as part of a five-town effort to crack down on distracted driving.The “Phone in one hand, ticket in the other” campaign started on March 27, in Redding and runs through Wednesday, April 2nd in Brookfield, said Captain Jeff Kreitz.
Ridgefield has partnered with Redding, Bethel, Newton, and Brookfield police to pull over violators in the area who are either texting while driving or talking on their phone “held in the air.”
“We issued nine infractions for cell phones that were held in the air — where somebody is talking on their phone and its pressed against their ear,” Capt. Kreitz said. “We had 12 infractions written for texting and driving.”
He added that each department provides one patrol officer to the town where the cell-phone traps are located.
“On Friday, we had one supervisor running the show and one patrol officer on duty, as well as one from each of the other four departments,” Capt. Kreitz said. “There is a spotter set up on the road and when that officer sees a violator, he radios it to the car set up further down the road.”
Some of the locations where the police were pulling over drivers in Ridgefield included Route 35 (Danbury Road), Route 7 and Main Street.
The operation led to three drivers being arrested for suspended license misdemeanors.
The quarterly program started back in June and is in its third phase, Capt. Kreitz said.
“We had about the same results this time as we did back in October during the second phase,” he said. “We’re always looking for violations of this type, but this program gives us more manpower and is federally funded.”
Fines for cell phone and texting violations range from $150 for a first offense to $300 for a second violation and $500 for each subsequent violation.