WPD cracks down on distracted driving

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington Police are cracking down on distracted driving across the city. According to police, that means anything from having a snack to changing the radio station.

Cpl. Adam Schwartzel with the WPD traffic unit said distracted driving is a huge problem in Wilmington.

“The majority of our crashes are rear end crashes at traffic lights, the majority of them are because of inattention,” said Schwartzel. “Whether it’s eating, using your GPS, changing the songs on your ipod, anything that takes your attention off driving is a distraction.”

Schwartzel said the goal of the crackdown is to educate folks on the dangers of not paying attention.

“We got the entire unit out. We’re working these major thoroughfares like college road behind me to make sure that as many people as we can see that are distracted while they’re driving, to kind of educate them and let them know, hey it’s probably not the safest thing to do,” Schwartzel said.

Some Wilmington drivers agree with police. They said there are a lot of cars on the road who don’t necessarily have the eyes on the road.

“I don’t think necessarily that it’s a generational thing. I don’t think it’s just millennials like some people like to say with millennials and texting. I see people my parents age and even a couple of grannies and granddaddies,” said Kyndall DySard.

Some even said bad drivers are something Wilmington is known for.

“I think we get a bad wrap for having a lot of bad drivers here. I’ve definitely seen my fair share of crazy drivers and scary incidents that have happened so,” said Laura Rojas.

Police are hoping this new plan will put a stop to some of that and keep us safer on our roads.