A statewide crackdown on distracted driving ordered by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is working so well that even Christie’s wife, Mary Pat Christie, was ticketed earlier this year.
NJ Advance media reports that, on April 10, Officer Timothy Richard of the Bernardsville Police Department pulled over a white 2016 Chevy Suburban whose driver was holding her phone in her hand while driving. The woman, it turned out, was Mary Pat Christie – but Richard had no idea. It wasn’t until sometime later that his colleagues informed him he had ticketed the First Lady of New Jersey.
Christie, for her part, didn’t tell Richard who she was or attempt to get out of the ticket. Richard’s dash cam footage of the incident is below:
On May 9, 2017, Christie appeared in Warren Township municipal court and pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while using a cell phone. She paid a $250 fine.
While it’s certainly not good that Christie was using her cell phone while driving, you have to give her credit for admitting to her actions. She easily could have attempted to pull a power play to get out of the ticket – or she could have thrown a temper tantrum. Good for Christie for taking her ticket on the chin and moving on.
As for the crackdown on distracted driving, it has made New Jersey’s roads safer. In April alone, New Jersey police officers handed out 15,292 tickets for cell phone use, as well as 7,003 careless driving summonses. State Attorney General Christopher Porrino says that, since the start of the initiative, fatalities have fallen more than 7 percent compared to the same time period last year.
That’s some great progress when it comes to traffic safety!
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