Police in Pennsylvania are showing that they are serious about targeting distracted drivers and making them pay the price for their bad behavior.

They said there is not a better time for this scrutiny since April is National Distracted Driving Month.

The number of cited drivers for these offenses soared by more than 200 percent last year compared to 2016.

In the five-county Times News areas, four of the five counties showed dramatic increases. Only Monroe County had fewer arrests last year than in 2016.

Police in the two Lehigh Valley counties — Lehigh and Northampton — have been using special days to go after distracted drivers, and the policy appears to have paid off big time.

Arrests were up in Lehigh County by 126 percent (from 220 in 2016 to 497 last year), while in Northampton County, police handed out 105 percent more citations (219 last year compared with 78 in 2016).

Police in Carbon County wrote 58 percent more tickets (from 19 in 2016 to 30 last year for this type of offense; citations were up 41 percent in Schuylkill County (from 22 to 31). Monroe County’s decline was 29 percent, falling from 63 in 2016 to 45 last year.

Statewide, the number of arrests ballooned from 5,054 in 2016 to 15,542 last year.

Distracted driving citations are issued to drivers who text while driving (and this includes sending, reading or writing a text-based message or email) and those who wear or use headphones or earphones while the car is in motion.

Those who plead or who are found guilty face a $50 fine and court costs and fees.

The annual report is distributed by the Unified Judicial Systems of Pennsylvania, an arm of the state Supreme Court, which collects data from local and state police.

The 2017 report also found that:

• 37 percent of those cited were in their 20s.

• 69 percent of those cited were male.

• 55 percent of all citations were given by local police.

• Most citations were written in May.

• The greatest number of citations was given between 8 a.m. and noon.

• The 10 counties with the most distracted driving citations are: Montgomery, Allegheny, Philadelphia, Chester, Bucks, York, Delaware, Cumberland, Lancaster and Berks.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, distracted driving is defined as “any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving.”

Along with the types of distracted driving already mentioned, here are some others: use of a smartwatch, watching a video, eating and drinking while driving, using your navigation system, grooming, talking to passengers and adjusting the vehicle’s controls, such as the radio, seats and mirrors.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of distracted driving accidents is increasing. Each day in the United States, the CDC says, nine people are killed and 1,060 are injured in vehicle accidents involving distracted driving. About 70 percent of drivers between the ages of 18 and 64 have admitted that they on occasion use their smartphones, send or receive text messages and emails, or read.

Distracted driving has now replaced drunken driving as the number one cause of teenage traffic fatalities in the nation, the CDC reported.

Pennsylvania, which had dragged its feet in implementing stronger laws to address the growing issue of distracted driving, took a giant leap forward in 2016 when Gov. Tom Wolf signed “Daniel’s Law,” which enhanced the penalties for a crash caused by texting while driving that results in death or serious injury.

The law is named for Daniel Gallatin of New Castle, a father, grandfather, veteran and firefighter for nearly 40 years who was killed in May 2013 when his motorcycle was struck from behind by a driver who was texting.

Passage of “Daniel’s Law,” would come too late for Eileen Miller of Scranton, whose son, Paul Miller Jr. was killed in 2010. Still, she wants to do her part to ensure that other parents do not experience the grief and heartbreak she and her family have faced.

Miller testified last week at a hearing before the state House Transportation Committee asking members to approve a bill introduced by State Rep. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe, to add restrictions and mandate stiffer penalties to those convicted of distracted driving offenses.

Paul Miller Jr., 21, was killed when a tractor-trailer crossed Route 33 in southern Monroe County and hit Miller’s car head-on. Investigators found that the driver of the tractor-trailer, Jaswinder Singh, then 31, of Parlin, New Jersey, was reaching for his cellphone when the crash occurred. Police said Singh was going 68 mph in a 45 mph construction zone. After pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, Singh was sentenced to a 12- to 36-month term in state prison.

Distracted driving in Pennsylvania resulted in 69 deaths and more than 16,000 crashes in 2016, Brown’s research shows.

Brown’s bill, HR 1684, would ban all drivers from operating a motor vehicle while making or taking calls on mobile or hand-held phones, except with the use of a hands-free accessory.

The bill would also prohibit drivers under 18 from operating a motor vehicle while using any hand-held mobile phone, including a hands-free accessory.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com