Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

In this go around of Community Salute, we’re treating the state of Minnesota as one large community so we can highlight the work of law enforcement during this latest effort to curb distracted driving around the state.

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety revealed that nearly 3,500 drivers had been cited during the month of April as part of this effort to get more people paying attention to the road rather than the phone.

Even one person driving while looking at a phone or other such distraction is a danger, but the fact we’re relatively close to 3,500 is staggering.

This year’s notable stops included a woman stopped for being on a conference call for a court date while driving. 

There is no mistaking that cellphones of today are incredibly helpful, allowing us to stay in contact and access information as never before.

However, our reliance on these and other such devices also highlights are devotion to these devices in every facet of our lives, including driving.

We’re among those to celebrate this enforcement of distracted driving laws and use this as another opportunity to stress that when driving, put the phone down.

It takes just a second of looking at your phone to tragically change a life or lives. Think about that the next time you reach for your phone and realize the weight that brings with it. 

Get to where your going safely so others may do the same.