Distracted Driving Awareness Month; Wisconsin troopers encourage safety

MILWAUKEE - April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month and state data shows that in 2023, distracted driving caused nearly 10,000 crashes and about two dozen deaths.

State troopers are encouraging people to keep their phones down and their eyes up.

What they're saying:

When on the road, the focus should be getting from point a to point b safely.

But as Master Trooper Brendan Braun would tell you, that focus seems to be shifting. For over two decades, Braun has patrolled Wisconsin highways. He says aside from the everyday speeder, there is another hazard behind the wheel.

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Data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation shows that in 2023, distracted driving caused more than 9,200 crashes and 23 deaths.

"Twenty-three people, 23 families that are without someone just because somebody couldn’t put their phone down or buckle up," Braun said.

Dig deeper:

Braun said many times he sees people multitasking. He says other common distractions are eating and drinking, looking at the GPS, pets and other passengers. Braun added that technology in cars can also cause distractions for traffic enforcers.

"It’s sort of a balancing act of making sure I’m not doing something and trying to watch other vehicles to make sure they’re not doing something illegally as well," Braun said.

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Citations could be close to $200. Braun said to stay focused and keep the phones down, because even a few distracted seconds could be life-changing.

"A crash happens in split seconds, and you may not have time to react to that," he said.