Police in these NJ spots are cracking down on driver handheld phone use

👮 NJ police crackdown
📵 Distracted driving factor in crashes
🚔 Officers get patrol grants

TRENTON — Motorists should be aware of a massive crackdown on distracted driving in New Jersey.

The campaign, “Put the Phone Away or Pay,” runs for the entire month of April.

State Police have been given over $211,800 to enforce bans on hand-held phone use and other distracted driving along the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and other highways.

Meanwhile, the following 158 local law enforcement agencies are sharing more than $1 million in grants for boosted patrols.

Atlantic County

▪️Absecon $2,800
▪️Atlantic City $12,250
▪️Atlantic County Sheriff $1,400
▪️ Brigantine $3,500
▪️ Egg Harbor City $1,400
▪️ Egg Harbor Township $12,250
▪️ Galloway $8,960
▪️ Hamilton $8,750
▪️ Hammonton $5,600
▪️ Margate $2,450
▪️ Mullica $7,000
▪️ Northfield $2,800
▪️ Ventnor $4,200

Bergen County

▪️Bergenfield $7,000
▪️ Cliffside Park $7,000
▪️ Closter $7,000
▪️ East Rutherford $8,750
▪️ Edgewater $7,000
▪️ Elmwood Park $8,750
▪️ Fair Lawn $12,250
▪️ Fairview $12,250
▪️ Fort Lee $12,250
▪️ Franklin Lakes $7,000
▪️ Haworth $7,000
▪️ Leonia $7,000
▪️ Lodi $8,750
▪️ Montvale $8,750
▪️ New Milford $7,000
▪️ North Arlington $7,000
▪️ Palisades Park $12,250
▪️ Teaneck $12,250
▪️ Upper Saddle River $7,000

Burlington County

▪️ Burlington Township $7,000
▪️ Evesham $12,250
▪️ Mount Laurel $7,000
▪️ Pemberton $7,000

Camden County

▪️Bellmawr $7,000
▪️ Gloucester Township $12,250
▪️ Lawnside $10,500
▪️ Pine Hill $7,000
▪️ Runnemede $7,000
▪️ Stratford $7,000
▪️ Voorhees $7,000
▪️ Waterford $7,000
▪️ Winslow $12,250

Cape May County

▪️Lower $3,500
▪️Middle $4,200
▪️North Wildwood $2,800
▪️Wildwood $4,200
▪️Wildwood Crest $2,800
▪️Vineland $12,250

Essex County

▪️Bloomfield $7,000
▪️Caldwell $7,000
▪️Cedar Grove $7,000
▪️ East Orange $7,000
▪️ Fairfield $7,000
▪️ Glen Ridge $7,000
▪️ Livingston $12,250
▪️ Maplewood $8,750
▪️ Millburn $7,000
▪️ Monroe $12,250
▪️ Montclair $12,250
▪️ Nutley $7,000
▪️ Orange $7,000
▪️ South Orange $8,750
▪️ Verona $7,000
▪️ West Caldwell $7,000
▪️ West Orange $7,000

Gloucester County

▪️Clayton $2,520
▪️ Deptford $7,000
▪️ East Greenwich $2,800
▪️ Franklin $7,000
▪️ Glassboro $7,000
▪️ Harrison $2,800
▪️ Logan $5,600
▪️ Mantua $5,600
▪��� Monroe $7,000
▪️ Paulsboro $2,800
▪️ Pitman $4,200
▪️ Rowan University $4,200
▪️ Washington $7,000
▪️ West Deptford $5,600
▪️ Westville $4,200
▪️ Woodbury $5,600
▪️ Woolwich $4,200

Hudson County

▪️Bayonne $12,250
▪️ Guttenberg $7,000
▪️ Harrison $7,000
▪️ North Bergen $12,250
▪️ Secaucus $8,750
▪️ Union City $8,750

Hunterdon County

▪️Clinton Town $1,680
▪️Clinton Township $7,000
▪️Flemington $5,250
▪️ Frenchtown $2,800
▪️ High Bridge $2,450
▪️ Holland $1,400
▪️ Lebanon $2,800
▪️ Raritan Township $2,520
▪️ Readington $2,800
▪️ Tewksbury $2,800

Mercer County

▪️Ewing $7,000
▪️ Hamilton $12,250
▪️ Lawrence $12,250

Middlesex County

▪️Carteret $7,000
▪️ Dunellen $7,000
▪️ Highland Park $7,000
▪️ Metuchen $7,000
▪️ Middlesex $7,000
▪️ Old Bridge $12,250
▪️ Piscataway $7,000
▪️ Plainsboro $7,000
▪️ South Brunswick $7,000
▪️ South Plainfield $7,000

Monmouth County

▪️Freehold Borough $7,000
▪️ Howell $7,000
▪️ Marlboro $12,250
▪️ Red Bank $8,750

Morris County

▪️Hanover $8,750
▪️ Jefferson $7,000
▪️ Mount Olive $7,000
▪️ Parsippany-Troy Hills $12,250

Ocean County

▪️Jackson $7,000
▪️ Lakehurst $8,750
▪️ Lakewood $12,250
▪️ Ocean Township $7,000
▪️ Stafford $8,750

Passaic County

▪️Hawthorne $7,000
▪️ Little Falls $7,000
▪️ Passaic $12,250
▪️ Paterson $12,250

Somerset County

▪️Bedminster $2,800
▪️ Bernards $2,800
▪️ Bernardsville $1,400
▪️ Bound Brook $2,800
▪️ Branchburg $2,800
▪️ Bridgewater $3,500
▪️ Far Hills $2,800
▪️ Franklin Township $7,000
▪️ Green Brook $2,800
▪️ Hillsborough $7,000
▪️ Manville $7,000
▪️ Montgomery $2,800
▪️ North Plainfield $7,000
▪️ Peapack Gladstone $7,000
▪️ Raritan Borough $2,800
▪️ Somerset County Sheriff $2,800
▪️ Somerville $1,400
▪️ South Bound Brook $1,400
▪️ Warren $2,800

Sussex County

▪️Hamburg $7,000
▪️ Sparta $7,000

Union County

▪️Cranford $7,000
▪️ Elizabeth $7,000
▪️ Linden $12,250
▪️ Plainfield $8,750
▪️ Rahway $12,250
▪️ Roselle Park $7,000

Of the towns listed above, 26 communities each got a maximum grant amount of $12,500 — including Atlantic City, Egg Harbor Township, Lakewood, Lawrence Township, Marlboro, Old Bridge, Linden, Rahway And Montclair.

In New Jersey, using a handheld phone while driving is punishable by a fine of $200 to $400, for a first offense.

Repeat offenders will face up to $800 fines and the addition of three insurance points.

Nearly half of the drivers (48%) involved in crashes in New Jersey in 2023 were in some way distracted, according to preliminary data.

Those crashes included 160 deaths and more than 1,400 serious injuries, state law enforcement said.

Last year, New Jersey’s statewide distracted driving crackdown campaign saw 9,055 tickets issued specifically for cell phone use or texting and almost 4,800 for careless driving.

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