BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
Police officers in Edison, Metuchen and Woodbridge will be on the lookout for distracted drivers as they participate in the “UDrive. UText. UPay.” Distracted Driver Traffic enforcement campaign.
The campaign started on April 1 and will run through April 21. The National Safety Council has designated April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
“With the grant, we can provide more officers on the road for this specific reason — distracted driving,” said Woodbridge Police Captain Roy Hoppock, who said the department has participated in the campaign since it began in 2014. “Our regular patrol is out there on a regular basis looking out for distracted drivers, but this a specific time frame.”
Woodbridge Police Director Robert Hubner said the statewide high visibility law enforcement initiative targets motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking on hand-held cell phones and sending text messages while driving.
The Woodbridge Police Department’s campaign is modeled after similar successful high visibility enforcement programs such as “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
Hoppock said the campaign is one of the many campaigns that the department takes part in to educate the public. He noted that the department sponsors an interactive program at all township high schools called “Don’t Be a Statistic” before prom season to educate students on the effects of drunk driving.
Metuchen Police Chief David Irizarry said the grant helps the department’s continuous commitment to pedestrian and traffic safety.
“The most dangerous driver on the road today is someone who is distracted by things from handheld phones to putting on makeup and everything in between,” he said. “This grant allows us to place extra officers on the road to specifically enforce these types of infractions. We can’t thank the state enough for this award.”
Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan said distracted driving is an enormous problem throughout New Jersey and nationally. He noted that it was contributing factor in 817,000 motor vehicle accidents across the state from 2010 to 2014.
“That’s a staggering statistic,” he said. “Many of those accidents are avoidable if people keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.”
Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said distracted driving is a serious issue on the roadways.
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2014 alone, 3,179 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 431,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver,” he said.
Despite the fact that using a hand-held cell phone or texting while driving is illegal in New Jersey, the practice appears to be widespread. In a recent survey conducted by the Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind Poll for the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, 67 percent of respondents said they “very often” see people driving and talking on a hand-held cell phone. And 42 percent of respondents said they “very often” see driver’s texting.
