Crime & Safety

Distracted Driving Focus of Chester Township Police This Month

Department participates in nationwide effort to crack down on handheld cell phone use and texting.

The Chester Township Police Department will be cracking down this month on distracted driving.

The department is participating in the national distracted driving enforcement campaign through April 21. The campaign's slogan is "UDrive. UText. UPay."

The 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," according to a department statement.  

“Distracted driving is a serious issue on our roadways,” said Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.  "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that each year thousands of people are killed in distracted driving related crashes and nearly a half million people are injured.”

Handheld cell phone use and texting remains a widespread issue in New Jersey. According to a 2013 FDU PublicMind Poll for the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, 72 percent of respondents said they “very often” see people driving and talking on a handheld cell phone. In addition, 40 percent of respondents said they “very often” see driver’s texting.

The campaign coincides with April being National Distracted Driving Month. The initiative is modeled after similar successful high visibility enforcement campaigns such as Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.


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