Skip to main content

New Jersey announces new initiative to combat distracted driving

Responding to an eight percent spike in New Jersey traffic fatalities in 2016, largely attributable to increasing distracted driving, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety are announcing a new initiative to provide state residents with a method to report dangerous drivers in order to protect motorists and pedestrians. The state’s #77 alert system, previously used for reporting aggressive driving, will now be used to report all forms of dangerous driving, from
April 7, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Responding to an eight percent spike in New Jersey traffic fatalities in 2016, largely attributable to increasing distracted driving, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety are announcing a new initiative to provide state residents with a method to report dangerous drivers in order to protect motorists and pedestrians.

The state’s #77 alert system, previously used for reporting aggressive driving, will now be used to report all forms of dangerous driving, from those operating a vehicle while looking at a cell phone to those driving while impaired. Enforcement measures are being stepped up on the road, and in an initiative believed to be one of the first of its kind in the nation, warning letters will be directed to those spotted driving while distracted on New Jersey roadways.

Traffic fatalities in New Jersey rose from 562 in 2015 to 604 in 2016, an average of 12 deaths a week. Division of Highway Traffic Safety officials have said the increase is in part because of distracted driving, such as cell phone use behind the wheel. In 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed, and 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Teens were the largest age group reported as distracted at the time of fatal crashes.

Related Content

  • TransCore to design NYC connected vehicle pilot program
    October 21, 2015
    The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) has selected TransCore to lead the initial design of its recently announced Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program. When deployed, this project will integrate TransCore’s TransSuite traffic management system technology with an in-vehicle device to further improve traffic flow, reduce accidents and improve pedestrian safety.
  • TransCore to design and build I-66 active traffic management system
    February 15, 2013
    One of the most congested interstates in Virginia, US, is to get an Active Traffic Management (ATM) system. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has selected TransCore, a division of Roper Industries, to design and build its I-66 ATM system on northern Virginia’s main highway into the District of Columbia. The US$34 million contract is 90 percent federally funded and will support thirty-four miles of highway from the District of Columbia to Gainesville US-29 in Prince William County. The projec
  • Measuring vehicle lengths with a single loop - promising results
    July 27, 2012
    District 7 of Caltrans has been conducting trials to see whether the use of a single inductive loop to measure vehicle lengths and so identify heavy trucks is feasible. So far, the results have been very promising, according to Lead Transportation Engineer Steve Malkson. Between them, the adjoining ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the US's two biggest, cover some 10,700 acres (43km2) and 68 miles (109km) of waterfront.
  • What are the top 10 riskiest US states for cyclists?
    May 11, 2021
    Delaware takes unwanted top slot in StreetLight Data analysis - but Massachusetts is safest