Distracted driver and seat belt emphasis patrols conducted in January

SPOKANE COUNTY — Starting January 2015 the Spokane County Target Zero Task Force will be sponsoring monthly distracted driving and seat belt emphasis patrols in Spokane County. As per the governor’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, Target Zero, the task force is committed to improving the safety of our roadways by education and enforcement.

In 2013, researchers at the UW/Harborview conducted the first ever observations of driver texting and cell phone use in Washington state. They found out that 14.5 percent of Spokane County drivers were distracted (texting or talking on a cell phone). Among th...