Cell Phone Crackdown Has Resulted in Over 100 Summonses

A little more than halfway through its campaign to help gain compliance in the borough, the Madison Police Department has issued over 100 summonses to motorists for illegal use of a cell phone.

The campaign, "Hang Up or Pay Up," is to help reduce the amount of residents who drive while using their phones.

"The main purpose is not to write tickets, it's to gain compliance from the public," Lt. Darren Dachisen said. "If we didn't write any tickets and there was not one person on their cell, we met our objective."

Dachisen said the department has seen a small decrease in illegal cell phone use since the campaign commenced on Aug. 1, saying Nixle alerts and message boards about the campaign on Main Street have helped slow such use.

Entering this past weekend, the department had issued 110 summonses this month. That number is over half of how many had been issued during the previous seven months. The department had issued approximately 207 summonses in 2010 entering August. The fine for the violation is approximately $130.

The department has been enforcing the violation with patrol cars, motorcycles and bicycles. Dachisen said it does seem as though enforcement has been a little easier using bicycles and motorcycles, as it helps prevent drivers from throwing down the phone if they see a patrol car in the area.

"I think people don't really look at them as officers right away," Dachisen said of those patrolling on motorcycles and bicycles.

Dachisen said increasing public safety is the purpose of the campaign, and the department is hopeful residents realize the dangers of using a phone while driving.

"It distracts the driver," Dachisen said. "People are not paying attention to the roadway. They may take their hands off the wheel."

Dachisen said the department urges residents to purchase and use hands-free devices. He says if they can't afford one, residents should pull over to a safe area, such as a parking lot.

The campaign came on the heels of a recent study by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind Poll, co-sponsored by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, which showed 25 percent of NJ drivers say they have sent text messages from behind the wheel within the past few years.

It also comes soon after a proposed state bill, which would suspend a driver's license after three cell phone violations, was introduced by Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex).

A full story on the FDU cell phone use poll can be found here.