The following is a release on behalf of the Gloucester Township Police Department:
Beginning April 1 and running through the end of the month, the GTPD will be cracking down on distracted driving during April as part of New Jersey’s “UDrive. UText. UPay” enforcement campaign.
Officers will be assigned to conduct proactive enforcement operations utilizing marked vehicles, unmarked vehicles as well as utilize plain clothes officers to identify motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking on hand-held cell phones and sending text messages while driving.
Driver inattention has remained the most frequently cited cause of fatal and incapacitating crashes in NJ, over seven times higher than the total crashes cited for unsafe speed over the five-year period 2015-2019.
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. 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.
For more information regarding the dangers of Distracted Driving please visit: https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/distracted-driving
