Washington Twp Police Cracking Down On Distracted Driving

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Don’t read this if you’re driving: Washington Township police are cracking down on distracted driving, including texting while driving, during the statewide “UDrive. UText. UPay.” campaign.

Between April 1 and April 21, police will be on the watch for drivers on hand-held cell phones while on the road as part of the “high visibility law enforcement initiative”. April has been designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Driver inattention was a factor in over half the crashes that took place in New Jersey in 2016. It was cited as a factor nine times more often that the next most frequent factor, speeding.

“This is clearly one of the most critical traffic safety issues that we face today,” Eric Heitmann, Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2016 alone, 3,450 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 391,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.”

New Jersey is just one of four states that receives federal funds to help combat distracted driving (the other three are Maine, Connecticut and Oregon). The Washington Township police department has not received federal funding, but patrol officers will still be participating in the enforcement.