The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT), the Hawaiʻi County Police Department and the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are encouraging motorists to  “put their phones away or pay” during Distracted Driver Awareness Month this April.

Drivers can expect to see more enforcement of Hawaiʻi’s Mobile Electronic Device Law, which has recently increased penalties to $400 for drivers who are caught operating a vehicle and using a cell phone within a school zone or construction area (Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes [HRS] 291C-104 and 171).    

Each county police department will conduct its own enforcement and community events in observance of Distracted Driver Awareness Month. HPD will host a training session through its Law Enforcement Explorers Program to teach keiki about distracted driving, how to observe violations, and the hazards of distracted driving.

The Hawaiʻi County Police Department, in partnership with HDOT, Kaʻū High & Pahala Elementary School, and Nāʻālehu Elementary School, will lead a community event to gear up keiki, and those who commute by walking, with blinking lights and other pedestrian safety supplies to enhance visibility to drivers on their commute.

For more information on NHTSA’s “Put the Phone Away or Pay” campaign, visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/distracted-driving