Electronic message boards along Connecticut’s major highways Thursday read, “Phone in one hand, ticket in the other.”
The messages are part of a state and federal pilot program to find the best ways to prevent drivers — particularly young people — from dangerous texting and use of cell phones.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be talking about distracted driving Thursday in Hartford and Syracuse, N.Y.
Connecticut last November received a $200,000 grant from the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to combat the use of cellphones will driving.
The demonstration projects in Hartford and Syracuse will allow police to test how well high-visibility enforcement works.
The most recent government statistics show that almost 6,000 people lost their lives — and an estimated 515,000 were injured — in crashes during 2008 that involved at least one form of driver distraction.
Federal officials say the percentage of young drivers illegally using electronic devices has increased since 2007.
