Joeseph Peoples of Lawrenceville admits he was caught, but says it hasn't stopped him or likely other offenders from talking on the cell while driving.
"I'm sure most people feel the same way, that they got the ticket this time. Will it stop them? Probably not," Peoples said.
AAA says the number of tickets issued shows police are cracking down on violators, but Tracy Noble is not sure everyone is getting the message.
"You are in a deadly weapon, so texting while driving, reading an email while driving, on a Blackberry, taking your eyes off the road for any given period of time puts you and other motorists at risk," Noble said.
Since 2008, 3,610 crashes have involved handheld cell phones. 3,129 have involved hands-free devices resulting in over 3,000 injuries and 19 deaths.
Some complain that police don't enforce the law well enough. We all see people still holding the phone or texting all the time, but cops can only ticket those they actually observe; lots of people just hide what they're doing until they pass the police car.
Ewing police chief Robert Coulter, who heads the state police chiefs association, acknowledges the threat of a $100 ticket isn't always a deterrent.
"For those individuals who receive a summons, maybe it is, but many individuals are still out there placing themselves and other motoring public in jeopardy," Chief Coulter said.
The state legislature is now considering a bill that will require officers writing tickets and accident reports to check a box describing the type of distraction contributing to a crash, anything from texting to eating to dealing with pets.
"If that's the cause of an accident then it should be noted on the accident report so we can use that, mine that data to see where we are," Assemblyman Gordon Johnson of the Law and Public Safety Committee said.
In the meantime state highway officials continue the campaign to convince motorists to "hang up and just drive."
