April is National Distracted Drivers Awareness Month, and thanks to a grant from IDOT, some Illinois police officers are taking to the streets looking for distracted drivers sitting at red lights.

Just in case you didn't know, texting while sitting at a red light is still considered distracted driving, and it is illegal. We are all guilty of doing it, but this effort by police is meant to break us of the habit.

WGN TV reports;

In Illinois, the Department of Transportation gave out nearly a million dollars in grant money to 119 law enforcement agencies to put more officers out on the streets. That funding helped the Palatine Police Department get officers out on foot  to keep drivers safe.

A recent crackdown had officers posted at interactions with traffic lights.  Officers spotted driver after driver with cell phone in hand.

Too many lives have been lost in traffic accidents already this year in Illinois, and there's no doubt those numbers will decline when we all figure out that no text or phone call is more important than a life.

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