Lacey Kicks Off Distracted Driver Campaign Starting On April 1

LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - You've been warned. Put the cell phone down if you are driving and talking or texting at the same time.

Lacey police will be looking for you during the statewide UDrive. UText. UPay campaign that begins on April 1 and will run through April 21, Police Chief Michael C. DiBella said.

“Distracted driving is possibly the most serious issue on our roadways today,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting 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.”

In New Jersey, driver inattention was listed as a contributing circumstance in 52 percent of the state's crashes in 2015. Driver inattention was also listed as a contributing factor in crashes at a rate nine times higher than than speeding.

The National Safety Council has designated April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The New Jersey campaign is modeled after similar successful high visibility enforcement programs such as Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, the chief said.

Logo: Courtesy of Lacey Township Police Department