Officers from the Fanwood Police Department will be cracking down on distracted drivers during the month of April as part of New Jersey’s “U Drive, U Text, U Pay” enforcement campaign. Running through April 21, the high-visibility law enforcement initiative will target motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking on a hand-held cell phone and sending a text message while driving.
“Distracted driving is a serious issue on our roads,” said Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that during 2014, 3,179 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 431,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.”
Despite the fact that using a hand-held cell phone or texting while driving is illegal in New Jersey, the practice appears to be widespread, according to the press release. In a recent survey conducted by the FDU PublicMind Poll for the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, 67 percent of respondents said they “very often” see people driving and talking on a hand-held cell phone and 42 percent of respondents said they “very often” see drivers texting.
The campaign is being carried out during April, which the National Safety Council has designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The New Jersey campaign is modeled after similar successful high-visibility enforcement programs such as Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, according to the press release.
