New Brunswick Police Announce Crackdown On Distracted Drivers

New Brunswick police have announced a crackdown on distracted drivers.

Between Wednesday and April 21, city police will participate in UDrive. UText. UPay, a high-visibility, national enforcement campaign that will target distracted drivers, including those who talk on hand-held phones and send texts while behind the wheel, according to a news release from city police Capt. J.T. Miller.

“Distracted driving is a serious issue on our roadways,” Gary Poedubicky, acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety said in a prepared statement. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2012 alone, 3,328 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.”

April is National Distracted Driving Month.

In a 2014 survey conducted by the FDU PublicMind Poll, 68 percent of respondents said they “very often” see people talking on a hand held cell phone while driving, and 41 percent of respondents said they “very often” see drivers texting, according to the news release.