The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Law enforcement agencies throughout the county are stepping their enforcement of laws banning using cell phones while driving.
Traffic patrols will be deployed on a random basis to find drivers talking and texting while driving, according to a press release from Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano, North Plainfield Chief of Police and President of the Somerset County Association of Chiefs of Police William Parenti, and Somerset County Sheriff Frank J. Provenzano.
Statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that 3,000 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2011 because of distracted driving, according to the release. A full 44 percent of police reported crashes in Somerset County in 2012 were caused by distracted driving, the release said.
The effort is part of Somerset County law enforcement’s “Put it Down” initiative, which tries to focus the attention of drivers on the dangers of distracted driving.
For more information, contact Chris Rokicki at the Somerset County Prosecutors Office at Rokicki@co.somerset.nj.us. You can also visit: www.sctrafficsafety.com.
