SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- You may see troopers in more locations as you are driving down Coastal Highway in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. That is because The Delaware Office of Highway Safety has seen high numbers of crashes on Route 1 during peak traffic times.
Public Information Officer Cynthia Cavett says that officers will be on the lookout for people distracted behind the wheel.
"We are saying there is a likelihood of crashes in this area at this time," Cavett said. "Can you make sure that we are addressing this in those areas and try and prevent it from happening I the first place."
To help with the effort, there are two special enforcement periods over the next year where officers will be on the lookout for distracted drivers.
These special enforcement periods will be run by local and state agencies. Distracted driving is also being monitored on Route 24 in Laurel between Shiloh Church Road and Curley Drive. The town limits of Georgetown is also included.
Captain Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company Kent Swarts says the amount of calls for crashes triple from winter to the spring and summer.
"We are just seeing a lot of these rear end collisions: two, three, four cars at a time and it is just people being distracted, not keeping a safe distance, and being unable to break, unaware and not breaking on time," Swarts said.
Delaware OHS is offering a five second rule tool to drivers on their website to show how far a car can go at different speeds during a quick glance at their phone or other distraction.
The current special enforcement period ends on April 22. There will be another from July 15 to August 19 when the office of highway safety is hoping it can spread awareness at public events.