The following is via WCBSTV:

Starting Tuesday, police in 60 New Jersey communities are launching a three-week crackdown on distracted drivers.

As part of a national campaign dubbed “UDrive, UText, UPay,” police departments are tapping into a special federal grant that will allow them to dedicate overtime officers specifically to distracted drivers.

“Officers are going to be doing a hundred hours of this special detail: distracted drivers with cellphones,” said Englewood Cliffs Police Chief Michael Cioffi. “Nothing else.”

The push was prompted by an alarming rise in the number of distracted driving accidents.

Most notably was the death last summer of 8-month-old Angelie Paredes, who was killed when an allegedly distracted bus driver lost control in West New York.

Beginning July 1, fines jump from $100 to anywhere between $200 and $400 for talking or texting and those fines increase with subsequent convictions.

April is National Distracted Driving Month. The distracted driving campaign runs through April 21.

(Source: WCBSTV)