Enforcement

U Drive. U Text. U Pay. National Texting Enforcement Campaign

To kick-off April 2015 National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Transportation will launch its second national advertising campaign and law enforcement crackdown to combat distracted driving - U Drive. U Text. U Pay. According to the DOT's National Highway Safety Administration, 3179 people were killed and an estimated 431,000 were injured in distraction-affected crashes in 2014.

From April 10 to April 15, 2015, law enforcement personnel nationwide will be using a combination of traditional and innovative strategies to crack down on motorists who text and drive. The enforcement blitz is supported by a national advertising campaign running April 6 to April 15, 2015, which is designed to raise awareness about the enforcement effort and remind people about the deadly consequences of texting and driving.

As of May 2015, 46 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers. All but 5 have primary enforcement. Of the 4 states without an all driver texting ban, 2 prohibit text messaging by novice drivers, 1 restricts school bus drivers from texting.