Suffolk County Sheriff Boosts Distracted Driving Patrols During Awareness Month

Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. activated increased distracted-driving enforcement across Suffolk County roadways on April 2, aligning the department's April patrols with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's national campaign titled "Put the Phone Away or Pay."

The enforcement push targets motorists using hand-held devices behind the wheel, a behavior NHTSA linked to 3,208 traffic deaths across the United States in 2024 alone. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Office framed the initiative as both an enforcement action and a public-education effort, with deputies authorized to issue summonses on the spot and, where conduct rises to criminal levels, make arrests.

The financial stakes for distracted drivers stopped on county roads are considerable. Under New York State law, a first offense carries a fine between $50 and $200, plus a surcharge of up to $93. A second offense within 18 months can bring a penalty of up to $250, and a third or subsequent violation within that window raises the maximum to $450. Every conviction also adds five points to a driver's DMV record; reach 11 points in any 24-month period and a license suspension follows. For probationary and junior drivers, the consequences are steeper still: a first offense triggers a 120-day license suspension.

The Sheriff's Office announcement is timed to Distracted Driving Awareness Month and runs parallel to a statewide New York State Police effort, also operating under the "Put the Phone Away or Pay" banner, that deploys both marked cruisers and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement vehicles to catch phone users. During the equivalent campaign period last year, State Police issued more than 22,800 tickets statewide, including over 4,600 specifically for distracted driving violations.

For Suffolk County commuters and pedestrians, the practical effect is a heightened law-enforcement presence through the end of April, with patrols directed specifically at the hand-held device violations that have increasingly drawn attention from traffic-safety officials. The Sheriff's Office has signaled that enforcement details will be visible throughout the month, making this one of the more active distracted-driving crackdowns Suffolk County roads will see this year.