Nevada warns drivers of upcoming cell phone fines

Carson City, NV – Nevada traffic safety officials and Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) recently announced that, beginning Jan. 1, fines of up to $250 will be imposed on Nevada drivers caught using a handheld cell phone or wireless communications device to talk, type or read. Through 2011, law enforcement officers will issue a warning for driving while using handheld cell phones.

“There are approximately 3,400 distraction-related crashes in Nevada every year, and more than 50 deaths in the past five years,” Sandoval said in a press release. “These distracted driving crashes include drivers using a cell phone while behind the wheel. Because someone was driving distracted or didn’t put their phone away, there is a family member who is not coming home.”

According to Nevada officials, in the United States, nearly 5,500 people died and half a million were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2009.

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