New tool for NJ parents: How to keep your kids ‘distraction-free’

Distracted driving took more than 3,300 lives on the road in just one year.

On the heels of some bad grades for New Jersey in a new study on distracted driving, and to mark National Teen Driver Safety Week, a new initiative has been launched to help ensure we're not raising a generation that will be glued to their phones while behind the wheel.

"It's a huge problem in New Jersey and all over the country," said Pam Shadel Fischer, senior director of external engagement for the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Fischer, a former director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said during any given time in the U.S., there are more than 300,000 drivers who are holding their phones while they're behind the wheel.

But smart devices are just one of many things that can get it one's way of actually focusing on the road.

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The new initiative, from GHSA and State Farm, is meant to serve as a one-stop shop for parents looking to educate kids and teens on how to remain distraction-free, not only while driving, but also while walking, biking or scooting along the road.

"We need to start having these conversations ... at the earliest age possible," Fischer said.

The campaign comes together at this new website, Generation Distraction Free. Among the resources is a printable "spot the distraction" game for kids.

Beyond the website, Fischer said, adults' actions matter behind the wheel — parents can't expect their kids to fully focus on the road if they're distracted themselves while driving.

In a 2024 study from an injury law firm, New Jersey ranked as the fifth-worst state for distracted driving. The study points to 183 fatalities attributed to distracted driving in 2022, or more than a quarter of all fatal accidents in the state.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving claimed 3,308 lives in 2022, the most recent year for which statistics are available.

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