Manalapan PD Announces April Texting And Driving Crackdown

MANALAPAN, NJ - Officers from the Manalapan Township Police Department will be cracking down on distracted drivers during April as part of New Jersey's "UDrive, UText, UPay" law enforcement campaign.

“Beginning April 1 and running through the end of the month, the high visibility law enforcement initiative will target motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking on hand-held cell phones and sending text messages while driving,” the department wrote in a news release.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2,841 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 400,000 people were injured in 2018 alone. In New Jersey, driver inattention was listed as a contributing circumstance in 50 percent of the state's crashes in 2018. Driver inattention was in fact listed as a contributing factor in crashes at a rate seven times higher than that of the next highest contributing factor - speed.

“Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving,” the department continued. “Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.”

New Jersey serves as one of eight states nationally to receive dedicated federal funds this year to tackle the issue of driver distraction. The federal funding will be used for police overtime enforcement grants at the local level as well as a statewide multimedia public awareness campaign on this important issue.

Read more:

• Driver Who Hit Patrol Vehicle On Rt. 9 Was Using Cell Phone: Cops
• Man Distracted by Cell Phone Hits Howell Police Car
• 5-Year Sentence For Woman Texting And Driving In Fatal Collision