Crime & Safety
ICYMI: State, County Cracking Down on Distracted Driving
Somerset County agencies are participating in a statewide crack down on texting and driving.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office announced the county will be participating in a nationwide campaign intended to stop texting and driving, titled “U Drive. U Text. U Pay.”
Beginning April 1, police throughout New Jersey will be participating in the campaign, which combines intense enforcement of anti-texting laws with advertising and media outreach to let people know about the enforcement to combat distracted driving.
“In Somerset County, during the year 2013, there were 11,770 motor vehicle crashes reported to police,” the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said. “In 5,200 of those crashes, officers determined that driver inattention was a contributing factor in causation. In simple terms, nearly half of 2013’s crashes occurred because drivers were not paying attention. Compare that to the 238 crashes (2%) involving drunk drivers in 2013.”
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A number of agencies around Somerset County, including Somerset County Traffic Safety Alliance, Somerset County Prosecutors Office and the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, are participating in the campaign by offering programs and workshops throughout the month. Additionally, high schools throughout the county will be participating in individual projects and programs.
Authorities will be cracking down on distracted driving enforcement. A total of 38 police departments across New Jersey are doing extra patrols after the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety distributed $190,000 in grants across all of the departments.
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The Hillsborough Township Police, Bridgewater Police and North Plainfield Police are the only Somerset County police departments included on the list of grant recipients. The three departments will receive $5,000 in grant money for participating in the campaign.
The campaign will run until April 21.
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