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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: Next Regular Business Meeting: The Next Regular Business Meeting is WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2006, 10:00 AM, at the Somerville Elks Club, Route 28 (Union Avenue) Bridgewater, NJ. This is our annual meeting where the NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety hosts breakfast and lunch. You may invite your traffic supervisor, chief or other traffic personnel to attend. Board Of Directors: The next meeting is at the call of the President.  PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: Please make a special effort to attend the December 6th meeting. This is our annual meeting and when we showplace the Association and show appreciation to our members for their support. We are grateful to the NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety for sponsoring breakfast and lunch. With the approaching holidays we can expect increases in traffic, crashes, and drunken driving. This also is the time of the year when most robberies occur with shoppers. We can help prevent all of the foregoing with police presence. The more we show ourselves, via conspicuous patrol and aggressive traffic law enforcement, the fewer incidents there will be. Let’s give our citizens their best holiday gift by ensuring their safety. The roadway death toll as of week 46 is up by 95 bodies. Please help stop this bloodshed. On behalf of the Board of Directors I wish you and those you hold close to you a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Xmas, and a safe, prosperous, and healthy New Year. Stay Safe - Bill $74 MILLION PEDESTRIAN SAFETY INITIATIVE: Governor Corzine announced a five-year, $74 million initiative to improve pedestrian safety in New Jersey. NJDOT, the Department of Law and Public Safety and the MVC, will implement a three-pronged strategy to encourage motorists to safely share the road with pedestrians through engineering, education and enforcement. The initiative, funded with Transportation Trust money, addresses pedestrian awareness, driver behavior and roadway conditions that amplify crash risk. The fund will be used for intersection and sidewalk safety improvement projects, traffic mitigation measures, education and enforcement efforts, and planning and technical guidance. The program also includes: Safe Routes to School Program: $15 million to local governments for the creation of safer walkways, bikeways and street crossings near schools. Safe Streets to Transit Program: $5 million to provide mass transit riders safe pedestrian access to train and bus stations. Pedestrian Planning Improvements: NJDOT will incorporate pedestrian safety improvements when considering access permits for state highways and planning NJDOT roadway projects. Enforcement of Pedestrian Safety Laws: The Attorney General will work with County Prosecutors to enhance prosecution of failure to yield laws. Distribute Grants for Enforcement of Pedestrian Laws: Through the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, the Attorney General will issue $1.5 million in grants to state and local law enforcement to vigorously address the issue of pedestrian safety. Establish Statewide Traffic Safety Taskforce: The Attorney General, through the New Jersey State Police and in collaboration with the NJDOT, has created the Safe Passages Taskforce. Develop Statewide Drivers Education Curriculum: MVC, the Attorney General’s Office, NJDOT, and the Department of Education are currently developing a driver’s education curriculum. The curriculum will focus on the rights and the responsibilities of a driver and laws protecting pedestrians who cross our roadways. Incorporation of Pedestrian Safety Laws into MVC Tests: MVC will develop test criteria to evaluate drivers’ knowledge of the state’s pedestrian safety laws.  THIS GUY NEEDS ANGER MANAGEMENT: An angry storeowner in Mahopac, New York didn’t like the way a man parked his car so got a forklift and lifted it off the ground because he said it blocked his access to his trash bin. But this wasn’t enough to satisfy his anger so he punched out the car, denting it, and then punched the driver in the mouth. Eventually the police lowered the car and arrested the angry storeowner. 
As of Week 46 there were 642 fatalities recorded on NJ roads compared to 547 during the same period in 2005, AN INCREASE OF 95 BODIES.
There were 313 Driver deaths, 121 Passengers, 132 Pedestrians, 60 Motorcycle Drivers, 05 Motorcycle Passengers, and 11Pedacyclists. There were 642 fatalities in 594 cashes. ELECTION DAY’S BIG NEWS: It wasn’t about who will take control of the Congress that captured the news, rather it was Dover Township (Ocean County) finally becoming Toms River! After three tries in nineteen years voters finally decided to end the confusion between Dover Township in Ocean County and the Dover Township in Morris County. History shows Dover Township (Ocean) was chartered in 1767 and a Revolutionary War report shows the British attacked and burned Toms River on March 24, 1782. So, after over 200 years, voters decided they preferred Toms River over Dover Township. But what’s the problem? There are 7 Washington’s in NJ (6 Townships and 1 Borough), 5 Franklins, and 3 Unions. FINALLY A MOTIVATION TO LOSE WEIGHT: If you shed some pounds you’ll save money at the gasoline pump. A study shows overweight Americans are burning almost 1 billion more gallons of gas each year than they did in 1960. Considering the average price per gallon now at about $2.25, this means fat is costing us about $2.25 Billion each year. The study also suggests removing all excess weight in your vehicle, particularly the trunk, and you’ll get more miles per gallon. Imagine the cost when gas was over $3.00 per gallon. 
PROPOSAL TO INCREASE TOLL ROADS A BAD IDEA: The committee looking into ways to reduce the property tax burden in NJ is floating the possibility of selling or leasing the Atlantic City Expressway, Garden State Parkway, and Turnpike. They’re also considering charging tolls on some Interstate Highways. Other states that tried selling or leasing roads now wish they hadn’t and, regardless of what method they chose for toll collection, there still has to be some sort of on-road toll collection. This translates to toll booths, on or off the major portion of the roadway, either of which can cause traffic delays or, even worse, vehicle crashes. Statistics all over the country clearly show that any form of toll collection requiring vehicles to slow down or stop is extremely hazardous. Yes, we do need property tax relief but not at the cost of increasing our already high crash and fatality rates in NJ. Bad idea Jon! ESC SAVES LIVES: NHTSA says over 10,000 lives could be saved each year if they require auto manufacturers to install electronic stability control (ESC) on all passenger vehicles. A proposed rule would require manufacturers to equip vehicles under 10,000 pounds with ESC starting with the 2009 model year and be standard equipment on all vehicles by 2012. This technology helps drivers maintain control of their vehicles during extreme steering maneuvers by keeping the vehicles headed in the drivers’ intended direction even when the vehicles near or exceed the limits of road traction. When a driver attempts an extreme maneuver to avoid a crash or because a curve’s severity has been misjudged, the driver may experience unfamiliar vehicle handling characteristics as the vehicle nears the limits of road traction. The result is a loss of control in either the rear of the vehicle “spinning out,” or the front of the vehicle “plowing out.” ESC would make the necessary correction without any action by the driver. 
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY BELT AND BULLETPROOF VEST SUPPORT OUR TROOPS IN THE ARMED SERVICES Next Meeting December 6 - Free Breakfast & Lunch - Somerville Elks Club |