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Chief William Cicchetti, President Sgt. Richard Maxwell 1st Vice-President (Ret.) Chief Tony Parenti, Editor MEETING NOTICES: Board Of Directors: The next Board meeting is at the call of the President. Next Regular Business Meeting: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2008, beginning at 10:00 AM, at the ATLANTIC CITY CONVENTION CENTER, Atlantic City, NJ. As usual there will be prizes donated by conference vendors. You may invite as many guests as you desire to join us at the meeting and the Expo. Following the meeting you and your guests can visit the Police/Security Expo, compliments of the NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police. Please note that we are not meeting on the first Wednesday in June, July, or August.  PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: The NJ Chiefs Association Police/Security Expo in Atlantic City won't be the same this year and in the years ahead with the passing of our dear friend Bob Kaldor. Bob, better known as Boobaala, was always a hit at our meetings with his humorous description of his products. He was a generous man who did a lot for the safety of the people operating emergency vehicles. We will miss him and offer his family our heartfelt condolences. Since the passage of the permissive red light camera law vendors are flocking to New Jersey. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the law and the implementation procedure before meeting with any vendors. Although there will not be a NJDHTS 101 Days of Summer program this year, I urge all of you to get in the spirit of the season by enforcing all traffic laws, especially during this critical time of the year. Statistics show more people die in road crashes during the 101 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day than in any other 101 days of the year. To enhance our lines of communications with traffic officers I have asked our Executive Director to visit each of our Regions and as many County Associations as possible and to report the results at our monthly meetings. Stay Safe. Bill. ARE YOU MISSING OUT ON IMPORTANT TRAFFIC SAFETY ALERTS?: If you received this newsletter by postal mail the answer is yes. We send members receiving the newsletter by e-mail traffic safety alerts and timely messages as we receive them from a variety of top-notch sources. To subscribe to the e-mail services send your request by e-mail to tparenti@comcast.net. You can subscribe to the e-mail or postal mail service; either one, we cannot send both. For your protection we keep our e-mail list secure and will not divulge it to anyone under any circumstances. Please consider using this service, our goal is to have the largest e-mail contact list in NJ traffic safety. Note our new address and telephone number on the mast above. 
POLICE SECURITY EXPO: June 24 and 25 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Our meeting is on Wednesday June 25 beginning at 10:00 a.m. Use the following site to register in advance. http://www.police-security.com/registrationACNew.htm. There will be instruction on Law Enforcement's role with older drivers, identifying at-risk drivers, and taking appropriate actions, beginning at 1:00 p.m., in rooms 308/309. Notify Chief John Coyle if you would like to attend this FREE seminar John.Coyle@dot.gov. NEW JERSEY BOOSTS BUDGET FOR BRIDGE REPAIRS: NJDOT is enhancing funding for bridge repair by nearly $100 million and will spend $605 million on state and local bridges, nearly a 20-percent increase from the $509 million allocated in the current capital plan. The Pulaski Skyway in Hudson County, whose design is similar to that of the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis, has been labeled structurally obsolete and will get a combined $55.5 million for improvements. The construction is part of a $3.3 billion program for the year beginning July 1. Funding is from the state gas tax revenue and the federal government. Nearly $42 million is slated for bridges on Route 1 in Middlesex County and another $2 million will be used to help widen highways in Middlesex County. In the long run the entire project is expected to cost $250 million. 
As of May 18, 2008 there were 207 fatalities recorded on NJ roads compared to 249 during the same period in 2007, A DECREASE OF 42 DEATHS. Note: These figures are only preliminary
So far this year there were 119 Driver deaths, 35 Passengers, 46 Pedestrians, 07 Pedacyclists, and 18 Motorcyclists. There were 207 fatalities in 197 crashes. TOLL HIKES BOOST FOREIGN PROFITS: American drivers are paying higher fees to cover the losses of the Spanish toll road giant Cintra. Despite collecting $1.4 billion from drivers last year the company said they failed to make a profit claiming they lost $25 million in the first quarter of this year. During this time traffic dipped 8.9 percent on the Chicago Skyway and 6.1 percent on the Indiana Toll Road. The weakening dollar also cut into their revenue from U.S. motorists and as a result Americans are now paying significantly more. In 2005, Illinois leased the Chicago Skyway to Cintra and the Australian tolling firm Macquarie for 99 years. They raised tolls 20 percent earlier this year, charging $3 each to drive the 7.8-mile Skyway route. In April, Cintra raised toll rates for drivers on the Indiana Toll Road by 21 percent and the company nearly doubled the toll for motorists who do not use electronic tolls. The cash price for driving the length of the route jumped to $8, up from $4.65. In Canada, an Ontario court decision won Cintra the right to set whatever rates it chooses on the 407 ETR toll road. Since then, Cintra has raised the toll by nearly 30 percent. This doesn't boost the notion to sell or lease toll roads in NJ. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: CheckMark Vehicle Safety Services (CVSS) has partnered with an Inspection Service Provider (Safety Solution Systems, or SSS) for delivery of its Periodic Inspection Program (PIP). CVSA is requesting assistance in helping CheckMark Vehicle Safety Services staff up the PIP inspector work force for retired and off-duty inspectors, as appropriate and permitted by agency policy. Qualified and certified inspectors will be compensated at $40 for each vehicle inspection (i.e. power unit, trailer, dolly…etc). For more information contact Joe Craparotta at 609-865-6928 or at JoeCraparotta@comcast.net. 
RANDOLPH TRAFFIC OFFICER HONORED: The New Jersey State Safety Council recognized Randolph Police Sgt. William Yarzab and resident Joanne Veech at their 24th annual Mid Atlantic Safety Expo held at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City on April 22, 2008. Sgt. Yarzab and Mrs. Veech were the driving forces behind implementing the Alive at 25 teen driving programs currently being taught in Randolph High School. The program consists of classroom instruction taught by certified teachers at the High School. POLICE TRAINING COMMISSION - RADAR CERTIFICATION: You've probably heard of the massive lay offs at the NJ Police Training Commission that essentially put them out of business. We recently learned that all of the laid off personnel are either back or will be back soon and it will be business as usual. The "shut down" caused concern with traffic officers, particularly with the Radar Certification Cards. The following is an excerpt from the regulation. "The radar training program, administered by the Police Services Section, is based upon the voluntary compliance of participating police agencies (underline added) and training requirements established by the Division of Criminal Justice in 1990. The goal of the program is to deliver accurate and comprehensive speed enforcement training for operators and instructors throughout New Jersey based upon case law and the Doppler principle." The underlined data has been interpreted to indicate the program is "voluntary" and not "mandatory." Give this information to your Municipal Prosecutor and Judge so they can determine the need for officers possessing current Radar Certification Cards in your Court. 
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY BELTS AND BULLETPROOF VEST SALUTE OUR WAR HEROES - NEVER FORGET THE DEPARTED NEXT MEETING JUNE 25 - CONFERENCE CENTER, ATLANTIC CITY |