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75 Martine Avenue, Fanwood, NJ 07023 - 908/322-7773 FAX - 908-322-2200 or 908-889-6359 Safety Wings | Tony Parenti , Editor MEETING NOTICES: Board Of Directors: The next meeting is at the call of the President. Next Regular Business Meeting: The Next Regular Business Meeting is on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2005, 10:00 AM at The Somerville Elks Club, Route 28 (Union Avenue) Bridgewater, NJ. TMDE Calibration Labs, Inc., will present their company’s services at this meeting. They do Annual or semi-annual radar calibration/repair service at your department including: Remove and install units from vehicle, calibrations to factory specs, check switches & functions, inspect cables and connections, check range, clean circuitry as needed, adjust frequency and voltages as needed, in-vehicle capability, certification, data maintenance, schedule and notification of calibration due dates. Lidar calibrations are done at their testing facility utilizing 1000 ft testing range, includes: calibrations to factory specs, distance accuracy, speed accuracy, scope alignment, measure total power output, measure pulse rate, certification. On-site charges: Radar cals/certs $65.00 - Tuning fork certs $5.00 - Lidar cals/certs $85.00 - Repairs $60.00/hr Service contract charges: MPH, Decatur, Kustom radar units - $195 per unit, Stalker radar units $275 per unit (price includes parts, labor and annual on-site certification) For further information call 1-877-863-3522.  NATIONAL FATALITIES DOWN: According to the National Safety Council, “Motor-vehicle deaths for January through May of 2005 totaled 16,860. This is down 2% from the corresponding 5-month period in 2004. The January to May figure for 2005 was less than 1% higher than the 2003 figure. The 5-month total for 2004 was 17,170, a 2% increase from 2003. The 2003 figure was 4% lower than 2002. The estimated annual mileage death rate is 1.5 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, a 6% decrease from 2004. Disabling motor-vehicle injuries for the first five months of 2005 are about 910,000, a 3% decrease from 2004. The estimated cost of motor-vehicle deaths, injuries, and property damage through May was $91.2 billion, a 3% decrease from 2004. CRITICAL RESPONSE TO AN ACTIVE SHOOTER SEMINAR: Tragedies such as the 1999 Columbine shooting have highlighted a need for law enforcement to rethink policies regarding Active Shooters. This one day seminar includes two-hours of classroom instruction to provide a brief history of evolving response and tactical considerations. The balance of the class includes practical applications of tactical movement and building clearing involving an active shooter. The instructors are active members of the Union County Emergency Response Team/SWAT training staff and team members. The Union County Police Chiefs Association is sponsoring the course and the cost is $100.00 per student. Applications will be included in next month’s NJPTOA newsletter. For further information call 908-322-6776, Chief Domanoski, or 908-889-6112, Chief Parenti. 
RECYCLE POLICE CARS: Dallas, Texas Police are helping the crime fight by recycling their police cars. For several months they left old, unmanned patrol cars around the downtown area as part of a concentrated effort to reduce crime. They believe the decoy cars, along with a variety of other steps, have helped decrease crime in the city. The numbers back up their claim. According to departmental records, through the end of April, Central Business District crime during business hours was down 25 percent from the same period last year. Overall crime decreased 12 percent. Police and experts say there's no way to prove how much the decoy cars have to do with the crime drop but they do believe they are a good deterrent. In addition to the decoy vehicles, Dallas police are using "eagle nests" to monitor suspicious activity from the roofs of downtown buildings. Decoy police vehicles have proved to be very effective in promoting traffic safety when they are parked, unmanned, alongside highways or in residential neighborhoods. Studies have shown positive results in reducing traffic offenses and at the same time reducing criminal activity. BLUE LIGHT LAW FOR VOLUNTEERS AMENDED: : Amendments were made to the "blue light" law (39:3-54.7), passed on 9/7/05 and take effect on April 1, 2006. A summary of the amendments follows. Any member of a volunteer fire company or a volunteer first aid or rescue squad recognized by and rendering service in any municipality; or any county or municipal volunteer Office of Emergency Management recognized by and rendering service in any county or municipality, provided the member's official duties include responding to a fire or emergency call may mount and operate, on a motor vehicle operated by that member, an emergency warning light or lights. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall not require the member to specify on which motor vehicles the emergency warning light or lights may be mounted. Emergency warning lights shall be removable or permanently attached, of the flashing or revolving type, equipped with a blue lens and controlled by a switch installed inside the vehicle or shall be blue of the light bar type, in accordance with the specifications prescribed by the Chief Administrator of MVC, or in the center of the dashboard. It may be a low profile light bar of the strobe, halogen or incandescent type, or a combination thereof. Light elements shall be shielded from direct sight or view of the driver. The new law allows blue low profile light bars and dashboard lights but does not authorize strobe lights for brake, head or corner lights.  As of Week 27, 2005, there were 313 fatalities recorded on NJ roads compared to 300 during the same period in 2004, AN INCREASE OF 13 BODIES.
As of this report, there were 185 driver deaths, 51 passengers, 57 pedestrians, 15 motorcycle drivers, 01 Motorcycle passengers, and 04 pedacyclists. There were 313 fatalities in 294 cashes. TRAFFIC SIGNAL PREEMPTION DEVICE BECOMES LAW: This is another law that came about by the NJPTOA. Approved 6/15/2005 as P.L.2005, c.96, the law amends 2C-33-14 by adding section (a) and says, in part: Traffic control preemption device means an infrared transmitter or other device which transmits an infrared beam, radio wave or other signal designed to change, alter, or disrupt in any manner the normal operation of a traffic control signal. b. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly possess a traffic control preemption device. c. The provisions of this section shall not apply to emergency services personnel which shall include, but not be limited to, any paid or volunteer fireman, any person engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services and any law enforcement officer, while in the actual performance of that person's official duties, or (2) an employee or agent of a traffic control preemption device manufacturer or retailer in the course of his employment in providing, selling, manufacturing, or transporting a traffic control preemption device to emergency services personnel listed in this subsection. d. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000. This law takes effect on 9/15/05. 
STATE SUPREME COURT CHANGES BREATH TEST STANDARD: A state Supreme Court ruling changed the standard of proof for convicting accused drunken drivers for refusing to take a breath test. The court ruled that conviction for refusing to take a breath test the prosecutor must prove the defendants guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the standard for criminal court cases. Previously, the prosecutor only had to meet the civil standard of a preponderance of the evidence. The court based their ruling because of the penalties for refusing to take the test has now become a “quasi-criminal” matter. The ruling applies to all future and current cases, including any presently on appeal and past convictions are not be affected. 
DRIVER DISTRACTION BILL: A pending bill would add driver distractions crash reports. The goal is to try to improve highway safety by obtaining clearer data the cause of crashes. Also, with distractions noted on crash reports, companies that put vehicles on the road could become more vulnerable to lawsuits, unless they strictly enforce safe-driving policies. Nineteen states now do it, about twice as many as four years ago. Under Wisniewski's bill, the types of distraction include car radios, eating, fatigue, audio and videocassette players, personal grooming, and, of course, cell phones. Inattentive driving is blamed for a quarter of all U.S. highway fatalities each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. New Jersey officials say distraction figured into 140 highway fatalities in 2003, the most recent year for data. Although rated lower as a distraction, cell phones are still perceived as a highway safety nemesis. A poll released last week found that a third of American drivers considered cell phone use by other motorists the top annoyance on the road, and nearly half the motorists surveyed felt less safe driving than they did five years ago. The poll also found that four out of 10 drivers acknowledged talking on cells while behind the wheel. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS |