With the advent of warmer weather, we are seeing more people – especially children – out around town. That means it’s time to think about vehicle and roadway safety. This month, the state is conducting its “UDrive.UText.UPay” campaign, a federally-funded campaign to raise awareness and crack down on distracted driving. But it’s not just about avoiding traffic tickets; it is about personal responsibility and weighing the value of human life.Distracted driving includes all situations in which drivers take their eyes off the road, take their hands off the wheel, or generally take their mind off driving. According to the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety (HTS), talking and texting on cell phones is the number one cause of distracted driving among drivers of all ages. Nine people in the United States are killed each day in crashes that involve a distracted driver, the CDC’s Transportation Safety division reports.HTS reports that from 2011-2020, 32,000 people were killed in distracted driving-related crashes on our nation’s roads. Driver inattention has remained the most frequently cited cause of fatal and incapacitating crashes in New Jersey, contributing to 50 percent of New Jersey crashes from 2016-2020. The situation is just as dire in Livingston, where there were 6,618 crashes reported to the Livingston Police Department from 2018 through 2022, an average of 1,323 crashes per year, the 75th most among New Jersey municipalities (and up to 72 just counting last year). While it is difficult to measure when one’s mind is not in the moment, it is easy to see when someone is not physically present at the wheel. Surely, we all have had the experience of pulling up next to a vehicle, only to see someone staring intently into their lap. The most frightening experience is witnessing drivers holding up their phones at eye level while their vehicles are actually in motion. The phones are often held to the side, of course, so as not to completely block the drivers’ line of sight. Maybe this offers a false sense of security to the offenders.It’s one thing to talk to passengers, have a conversation on bluetooth, or grab a quick snack while driving (although all fall under the category of “distracted driving”), but sending or receiving texts or emails is unacceptable and, frankly, appalling. We wonder what those who text or email while driving would think if they came upon a driver who was ...
