Emily Masters is reporting for the Times Union April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and in New York, the state police will be out in force from April 12 to 16 in marked and unmarked vehicles to ticket drivers caught using cell phones or other handheld devices. The agency will also operate checkpoints during the enforcement weekend, according to a statement released April 2. During the distracted driving campaign last year, troopers wrote more than 2,000 tickets for people caught texting or talking on a cell phone while driving in New York. Penalties for distracted driving rage from a $200 maximum fine for a first-time offense, to a $450 fine for the third offense in 18 months. Probationary and junior drivers also face license suspension. In 2016, more than 3,400 people were killed in distraction-related crashes in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Read the full story in the Times Union.