South Brunswick Police Cracking Down on Distracted Driving

 The South Brunswick Police Department will be taking part in a national crackdown on distracted drivers starting April 1, Chief Raymond Hayducka annonced Friday.

The crackdown effort named UDrive. UText..UPay. According to the latest data from National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, nationwide in 2012, more than 3,328 people were killed in crashes involving distracted drivers, and approximately 421,000 people were injured.

“New Jersey has some of the most congested roads and taking your eyes off the road for even a second can lead to tragedy," said Hayducka said. "This campaign will raise awareness and safe lives."

“Distracted driving is a serious issue on our roadways,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.

According to South Brunswick police:

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.

 In a 2013 survey conducted by the FDU PublicMind Poll for the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, 72 percent of respondents said they “very often” see people driving and talking on a hand held cell phone. 40 percent of respondents said they “very often” see driver’s texting Beginning April 1 and running through April 21, there will be high visibility law enforcement patrols targeting motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking on hand-held cell phones and sending text messages while driving.

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. The campaign is being carried out during the month of April, which is National Distracted Driving Month. The campaign is modeled after similar successful high visibility enforcement campaigns such as Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.