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From April 1-21, police in dozens of departments will literally be working overtime on roving patrols and fixed checkpoints targeting distracted drivers as part of the nationwide “U Drive. U Text. U Pay” campaign.
“Our objective is to reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities in the state with a distracted driver contributing cause by 2.5% percent,” Wallington Police Chief Carmelo Imbruglia said.
In New Jersey, the most significant cause of fatal and incapacitating crashes is inattention -- as in: "any activity that diverts a person's attention away from the primary task of driving,” Imbruglia said.
“Because using a handheld cell phone while driving to make calls or send text messages requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, they are by far the most alarming distractions,” he noted.
It’s also illegal.
They're not the only potentially deadly distractions.
There's also:
- Eating and drinking;
- Talking to passengers;
- Grooming;
- Reading, including maps;
- Using a navigation system;
- Watching a video;
- Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player.
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