Princeton Police to crack down on distracted driving violations beginning July 12

Beginning on Monday, July 12, the Princeton Police Department will be cracking down on distracted driving violations as part of a campaign to get people to drive safely and raise awareness about the danger of distracted driving.

Officers will be conducting proactive enforcement operations to identify drivers who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as using hand-held cell phones and sending text messages while driving.

Distracted driving, which diverts a driver’s attention from driving, including tasks such as talking or texting on your phone, eating or drinking while driving, talking to people in your vehicle, or fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system. These are tasks that take your attention away from driving. Police said texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. If you are driving at a speed of 55 miles per hour, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.

Sgt. Thomas Murray of the police department’s traffic safety bureau estimates that about 80 percent of all of the crash investigations handled by the Princeton Police Department on an annual basis identify “driver inattention” and/or some other type of unsafe driving behavior such as speeding or following another vehicle too closely as contributing factors in a crash. The goal of the distracted driving enforcement campaign is to target unsafe practices in an effort to increase traffic safety within and around Princeton, making our roadways safer for all users, police said.