Grants drive NJ police to issue more distracted-driving tickets

Michael Boren
The Philadelphia Inquirer

EVESHAM TOWNSHIP, N.J. — In Evesham Township, where more motorists already are ticketed than anywhere else in South Jersey for talking on a handheld cellphone or texting while driving, police have written even more tickets than usual in recent months.

Between January and May, 597 drivers were cited for the offense - a sharp increase from the 462 ticketed in the same five-month period last year, according to the most recent Municipal Court case data available.

Police Chief Christopher Chew, in an interview last week, tied the surge in citations to grant money from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which the state administers to police departments to enforce issues such as distracted and drunken driving.

Full story: Grants drive Evesham police to issue more distracted-driving tickets