Red Bank Police Set For Distracted Driving Crackdown

RED BANK, NJ — Do you text while driving? To crackdown on distracted driving, Red Bank police will have extra patrols in place throughout the month of April.

Beginning on April 1 the “UDrive. UText. UPay” campaign will be high visibility and focused on people who are talking on handheld cell phones or sending text messages while driving.

Over the five-year period of 2015-2019, driver inattention was the most frequently cited cause of fatal and incapacitating crashes in New Jersey, accounting for more than seven times the total number of crashes cited for unsafe speed, police said.

In 2019 there were 3,142 people killed and more than 400,000 people injured in crashes nationally that resulted from distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This year, New Jersey is one of eight states to receive dedicated federal funds to combat driver distraction.

Federal funding will be used for local law enforcement overtime enforcement grants as well as a statewide multimedia public awareness campaign on this critical issue.