Drive Now. Text Later.

The Village of Skokie would like to remind residents that it is illegal to text while driving.The State law prohibits sending or reading text messages while driving in Illinois.Nationally, nearly 5,500 people died in 2009 in distracted driving-related crashes and another nearly half-million people were injured.

Tips to avoid distracted driving:

• Put your cell phone out of sight and out of reach when you get in the car.
• Display a “Drive Now. Text Later.” window decal and remind yourself and others to stop texting while driving. Decals can be ordered from the Illinois Tollway website www.illinoistollway.com.
• Pull over to a safe location to use a cell phone.
• If you must answer the phone, use a hands-free device.
• Do not send or read text messages while driving.
• Blackberry users: When in the car, set up a "driving" profile on your smart phone, to silence alerts and the phone. To listen to the radio, use the volume and station buttons on the steering wheel instead of reaching for the center console.

For more information about this campaign and how to avoid distracted driving, please visit www.illinoistollway.com.