South Brunswick Crackdown On Distracted Driving Nets 170 Summonses

South Brunswick Police released the results of the national “Udrive…Utext…Upay” campaign to crack down on distracted drivers in April.

South Brunswick Police Department was provided with grant money which allowed twenty-four shifts of four hour details. These details primarily focused on the morning and evening rush hours from April 1stto April 21st.

Police issued 170 summons. The breakdown was as follows; 67 for motorists being on a cell phone, 4 for driving with a suspended license, 13 for careless driving, 4 for speeding, and 88 for other motor vehicle violations.

Chief Raymond Hayducka said the campaign was meant to address an increase in distracted driving, specifically cell phone usage. In a 2013 survey conducted by the FDU PublicMind Poll for the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, 72% of respondents said they “very often” see people driving and talking on a hand held cell phone. 40% of respondents said they “very often” see driver’s texting.

Chief Hayducka cited the campaign as a success in decreasing cell phone usage. “The focus was to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. The media attention and enforcement decreased the number of motorists our officers observed on cell phones. Our goal is safety and this campaign helped us advance that effort,” said Hayducka.