The final four is set: Texting and Driving (1) will take on Yielding (5) and Headlight Use (6) faces the Move Over Law (7). These brackets can be voted on this week by visiting the Division’s web page, Facebook page (New Jersey DHTS) or tweeting @NJTrafficSafety. Voting on the championship round will begin next week and the winner will be announced on April 6.

In February, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety asked the public on Facebook and Twitter what rules of the road New Jersey drivers need a refresher on. Nearly 300 respondents replied with 28 different “suggestions” for their fellow drivers, which ranged from “texting and driving” to “left lane travel” to “road rage”.

The top eight qualifiers from that pool were seeded by number of responses and squared off against each other last week in the first round of March Driving Madness. These were the pairings:

• Texting and Driving (1) vs. Speeding (8)
• Directional Use (2) vs. Move Over Law (7)
• Left Lane Travel (3) vs. Headlight Use (6)
• Tailgating (4) vs. Yielding (5)

More than 1,000 votes were tallied in the Elite Eight round and the only favorite to move on was Texting and Driving. New Jersey motorists were seemingly upset enough about the underdogs to cause the upsets in the rest of the bracket. Many shared their reasoning for their votes:

• Brendan G. wrote: Honestly if people didn't abuse the left lane tailgating wouldn't be as bad as it is.... but almost getting side swiped by someone who has a yield is way more concerning to me... Especially on the highways!
• Andi B. wrote: I say texting and driving, especially near crossing guards and schools. Though many culprits actually do both at the same time. It makes me crazy!
• Dan F. wrote: Definitely . . . moving over for sure. People seem to just not care.

Those bad habits with the most votes will be the focus of public services announcements that the Division plans to run on New Jersey’s radio airwaves in the coming months.

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