Distracted driving is a dangerous phenomenon on American streets.
With the rise of the smartphone, distracted driving is becoming a phenomenon that's almost as dangerous as drunk driving. The CDC estimated that 9 people are killed and 1,153 people are injured every day in crashes involving distracted drivers.
That's why the New Jersey police department enacted a "crackdown" on April 1. This crackdown is part of a nationwide initiative to combat distracted driving titled "U Drive. U Text. U. Pay."
"The Division of Highway Traffic Safety has awarded $5,000 to 38 police departments for the initiative and many more agencies are expected to participate unfunded. The campaign runs through April 21," the office of the Attorney General wrote.
"Distracted driving is an incredibly significant issue on our roads and one that requires a total commitment from law enforcement to eliminate. To continue to make our roads safer, we must be as aggressive with distracted drivers as we have been with drunk drivers and people who refused to wear seat belts," Acting Attorney General John Hoffman said.
The campaign used a checkpoint-based system to determine if drivers were recently distracted, and the system was similar to those used to monitor and prohibit drunk drivers.
Now, New Jersey has released information about how many people were cited during the three-week initiative.
"From April 1 to 21, patrol officers dedicated 170 hours to the 'U Drive, U Text, U Pay' initiative and issued 453 motor vehicle summonses, according to a police department release. Among the tickets were 77 for cellphone/texting, 30 for driving with a suspended license, 25 for speeding, and 21 for failure to wear seat belts. Officers also made three arrests for driving while intoxicated and two for possession of narcotics," Philly.com reported.
But, regardless of whether there's an initiative doing what it can to resist, the N.J. police department is imploring drivers to "turn off electronic devices and put them out of reach before starting to drive" and to "speak up when you are a passenger and your driver uses an electronic device while driving."
