Lacey Police Cracking Down On Distracted Driving

Lacey police will put extra focus on distracted driving during April for New Jersey's "UDrive UText UPay" enforcement campaign. The law-enforcement initiative will target drivers who engage in distracted-driving behaviors such as texting or talking on handheld cell phones.

The initiative will run from April 1-21, during Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The New Jersey campaign is modeled after similar high-visibility enforcement programs such as "Click It or Ticket" and "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over."

Driver inattention was listed as the contributing circumstance in 52 percent of New Jersey's crashes in 2015, according to the Lacey Township Police Department. Driver inattention was listed at a rate nine times higher than speeding, the next contributing factor.

In 2015, distracted-driving crashes killed 3,477 people nationally, with an estimated 391,000 injuried, Chief Michael C. DiBella said.