Somerset County Police To Crack Down On Distracted Driving

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Authorities in Somerset and Hunterdon Counties will be cracking down on distracted drivers during April, as part of New Jersey’s "UDrive. UText. UPay." enforcement campaign.

The enforcement will run from April 1 to April 21 and target distracted drivers who are caught talking on hand-held cell phones and sending text messages while driving.

"Distracted driving is possibly the most serious safety issue on our roadways today," said Eric Heitmann, Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "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."

A total of 52 percent of crashes in 2015 in New Jersey were connected to driver inattention. Driver inattention is a contributing factor in crashes at a rate nine times higher than that of the next highest contributing factor (speed), according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

Even talking on a cell phone, hands-free or hands-on, the risk of being in a crash increases by four times and sending or receiving a text message increases the crash risk eight to 23 times, according to the National Safety Council.

The National Safety Council offers these tips when driving:

• Turn your phone off
• Install an app to disable your phone
• Put the phone in the trunk, back seat or glove box
• Simply ignore the alerts until you get to your destination

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