The Linden Police Department is pleased to announce that they will once again join law enforcement officers from across the state as part of New Jersey’s UDrive. UText. UPay. enforcement campaign.
According to officials, beginning April 1st and running through April 21st, 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.
“Distracted driving is possibly the most serious safety issue on our roadways today,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 391,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.”
In New Jersey, driver inattention was listed as a contributing circumstance in 52 percent of the state’s crashes in 2015. In fact, driver inattention was listed as a contributing factor in crashes at a rate nine times higher than that of the next highest contributing factor (speed).
“Coordinated enforcement programs like UDrive. UText. UPay. are significant in our efforts to realize safer roadways,” said Linden Police Chief David Hart. “Dedicated patrols conducting targeted enforcement is our best hope to stop this dangerous behavior and we could not sustain these efforts without support from campaigns like this.”
The campaign is being carried out during the month of April, which the National Safety Council has designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
The New Jersey campaign is modeled after similar successful high visibility enforcement programs such as Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.