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Onondaga County Increasing Patrol for Distracted Driving Awareness Month Onondaga County Increasing Patrol for Distracted Driving Awareness Month

By Rickie Potts II

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© 2024 Rickie Potts

Potts: Well that’s because it’s an important month for local police. Especially since they’re trying to reduce numbers like these.

Newton: I believe it was 3,000 or almost 4,000 people were killed in 2021 with distracted driving. So it’s, I won’t say it’s an epidemic but it’s way too many.

Potts: That’s Thomas Newton, a central New Yorker who has his own experience with distracted driving.

Newton: I was driving down the Chesapeake Bay Bridge over, down in Maryland or wherever and I picked up my phone to look at Yahoo and that email. And I hit a curb and flattened my tire right in the middle of the bridge.

Potts: Now as Public Information Officer of the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, Newton says educating people is an important part of the county’s job to raise awareness.

Newton: I think education is more important than enforcing because if we can educate people not to do it, then it doesn’t need to be regularly enforced because people aren’t doing it.

Potts: April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the increase in patrol will last for the rest of the month. Rickie Potts, NCC News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The New York State Police Department is increasing patrol again as part of its annual campaign for Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Onondaga County is also making its own efforts to try to prevent cases of distracted driving

Thomas Newton, public information officer of the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, understands how important is for officials in the county to be vocal about the dangers of distracted and to always spread the word in the community, not just for one month.

“It’s easy to look at April and just focus on one month, just like how October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” Newton said. “I think we’re doing  a service, but the disservice  is just to say that one month is for one issue, I think it’s a continual issue.”

Onondaga County is taking part in several different avenues of prevention in order to try and crack down on instances of distracted driving in the county.

The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office recognizes and emphasizes on going out into the community and educating the citizens on what they can do to reduce driving with distractions.

“We are continually educating people. Our SROs in our schools are continually speaking to our children. We go out to different community events. We continually to the members of these events, whether it’s a neighborhood watch, a senior citizen, or residents,” said Newton.

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