Over the past six days, I have seen three police officers in New Jersey talking on hand-held cell phones while driving their police cars. One of them was a state trooper on the Garden State Parkway. Talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving is a violation of New Jersey Law.

Memo to the Cops: Although I don’t have one of those cell phone cameras, plenty of folks do. Can you say “Six O’clock News?”

UPDATE: Thanks to reader and commenter Jim Britton for directing me to the portion of the relevant NJ Statute that provides an exemption from the ban on hand-held cell phones while driving to certain putlic officials, including law enforcement officers while in the actual performance of their official duties. The portion of the statute providing the exemption provides:

39:4-97.4 Inapplicability of act to certain officials.

The prohibitions set forth in this act shall not be applicable to any of the following persons while in the actual performance of their official duties: a law enforcement officer; a member of a paid, part-paid, or volunteer fire department or company; or an operator of an authorized emergency vehicle. L.2003,c.310,s.2.

Apologies to the officers I saw using hand-held cell phones, assuming, of course, that at the time they were not talking to their girlfriends or bookmakers. 🙂

Starting today, JetBlue will be flying out of Newark Liberty International Airport. This, of course, is good news, as it will give more Garden Staters access to inexpensive air travel on planes with landing gear that works just about all the time.