Carteret. NJ – The Carteret Police Department will be cracking down on distracted drivers during April as part of New Jersey’s UDrive. UText. UPay. enforcement campaign. The grant awarded for $6,600 will be utilized towards targeting motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking on hand-held cell phones and sending text messages while driving.
Beginning April 1 and running through April 21, the campaign is modeled after similar successful high visibility enforcement programs such as Click it or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. “The CPD will be focusing on the epidemic of distracted driving. This grant awards the department an opportunity to fund overtime for officers dedicated to distracted driving” said Deputy Chief McFadden.
“Distracted driving can cause serious injuries to pedestrians, passengers and other drivers sometimes resulting in death. Texting while driving is one of the most serious safety issues for distracted driving due to the visual and cognitive attention needed,” states Mayor Reiman. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 391,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.
In New Jersey, driver inattention was listed as a contributing circumstance in 52 percent of the state’s crashes in 2015. Driver inattention was in fact listed as a contributing factor in crashes at a rate nine times higher than that of the next highest contributing factor: speed.
The campaign is being carried out during the month of April, which the National Safety Council and the Borough of Carteret has designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
