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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: Next meeting is at the call of the President.
Next Regular Business Meeting: WEDNESDAY, January 5, 2005, 10:00 AM at the SOMERVILLE ELKS CLUB, ROUTE 28 (Union Avenue), BRIDGEWATER, NJ. Association tee shirts, jackets, decals, etc., are for sale at the meeting.
 MEETING CANCELLATION INFORMATION: We try not to cancel business meetings unless conditions are so dangerous that traffic officers must remain at their departments to handle whatever problems may arise. If we cancel a meeting due to bad weather or for any other reason, we post the cancellation notice on the police network by 0600 on the date of the meeting and on our website. Always check, particularly during inclement weather. PAY FINE USING HAND-HELD CELL PHONE ONLINE: The New Jersey Judiciary expanded the list of "payable" traffic tickets to include NJSA 39:4-97.3, driving while using a hand-held cell phone. Payment is $130 in fines and court costs. Drivers pleading guilty can pay any traffic ticket online or by mail may by logging on NJMCDirect.com. The program tells users if tickets can be paid without going to court and the total amount due, including fines and court costs. Drivers also may call the municipal court administrator's office where tickets were issued to learn if they are payable and how much is due. The Judiciary's Web site, at njcourtsonline.com, maintains a complete list of payable violations. The list, called the Statewide Violations Bureau Schedule, is in chronological order by statute number and lists the amount due for each payable violation. New Jersey's online payment system is rapidly growing and now accounts for about 10 percent of municipal court transactions. Paying online instantly updates court records and Motor Vehicle Commission records, providing up-to-the-minute information to drivers and to law enforcement officials. Through NJMCDirect, New Jersey's Municipal Courts collected more than $36.5 million in fines and court costs for 760,000 tickets between January 2002 and the end of August 2004. In recent months, about 50,000 drivers monthly have been using the system and collection averages about $2.6 million each month. Drivers pay a small convenience fee of between $2 and $4. 
ALCO-TEST TRAINING SCHEDULE: Training for local police: Middlesex County: November and December 2004, deployment January 2005. Camden/Morris - February & March 2005, deployment April 2005. Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem/Union - May & June 2005, deployment July 2005. Hunterdon/Warren/Burlington/Mercer, August & September 2005, deployment October 2005. Somerset/Ocean - November & December 2005, deployment January 2006. Sussex/Passaic/Atlantic/Cape May - February & March 2006, deployment April 2006. Hudson/Monmouth - May & June 2006, deployment July 2006. Essex/Bergen - August & September 2006, deployment October 2006. PROJECT BLUE LIGHT:Use blue lights in your holiday decorations, all or at least one bulb, to honor and remember Law Enforcement Officers who have been killed in the line of duty and to the honor those who continue to serve. The program began in 1989 when Dolly Craig of Philadelphia, PA, put blue lights in her window to remember her son-in-law who was killed in 1986. 
As of December 7, 2004, there were 630 fatalities recorded on NJ roads compared to 625 during the same period in 2003, A DECREASE OF 5 BODIES. .
There were 350 driver deaths, 106 passengers, 121 pedestrians, 39 motorcycle drivers, 3 motorcycle passengers, and 11 pedacyclists. There were 630 fatalities in 600 crashes. 
WHY DRIVERS LOSE LICENSE: Motor Vehicle Commission Officials recently disclosed that fifty percent of people who lost their driver's license were suspended for offenses that had nothing to do with driving. Our Association opposes loss of license for any offense not related to driving. We believe most of these people are not bad drivers, bad at something else but not bad drivers. Consequently, they are very likely to drive while revoked and, of course, without insurance. In 2003, 713,498 licenses were suspended; most by Motor Vehicle Services, and the others court-ordered. Licenses are subject to suspension for any of 300 reasons, varying from failure to pay child support, being found guilty of painting graffiti or failure to answer a court summons for a dog or cat license complaint. In some cases, a municipal court can suspend a license for an overdue parking ticket. The state hired Voorhees Transportation Institute at Rutgers University to survey of 7,500 drivers who have had their license suspended to determine if the system needs to be changed. The survey will also look at the ramifications of driver's license suspension and asks motorists if they suffered economic loss -- such as losing their job, losing wages or difficulty finding work because of a suspension. It also asks for their ideas on reforming the suspension system. Additionally, the survey will explore if the state should issue provisional or hardship licenses to suspended drivers to permit limited driving to work or medical appointments. NEW RULES FOR SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS: New federal regulations will change the school bus driver licensing procedure in New Jersey. As of October 1, 2005, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act will require all school bus drivers to maintain a special school endorsement on their Commercial Driver License (CDL). The new "S" endorsement is in addition to the current "P" passenger endorsement, and will involve taking a written test and a skills (road) test. Some drivers will be eligible to have the skills test waived. The NJ Motor Vehicle Commission established a testing and licensing process for carriers and currently licensed school bus drivers based in New Jersey. School bus drivers operating without the proper endorsement after October 1, 2005 are subject to loss of license for between 60 and 120 days for the first offense. NEXT-MVC should take a serious look at the point system. It has been around for a long time and has done little, if anything at all, toward removing habitual offenders off the road. It has, however, been beneficial for collecting more money for the coffers and the insurance companies. This is just as wrong and unfair as losing driving privileges for not getting a cat license. 
DRIVERS WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR TRAFFIC REDUCTION: Motorists are so frustrated with traffic congestion that they are willing to pay higher taxes if it really would improve things. A national survey shows 56 percent of those polled said traffic in their area worsened in the past five years and they would rather change routes and schedules than opt for using mass transit. Some lawmakers said they would add a 5 cent hike in the gasoline tax to help pay for road improvements but George W threatened to veto any tax hike. Another survey shows the number of traffic chokepoints, areas where roadways cannot handle all the cars, rose 40 percent in the past five years. WE WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES A JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON AND A PROSPEROUS 2005 ALWAYS WEAR YOUR BULLET PROOF VEST AND SAFETY BELTS SUPPORT OUR TROOPS WEDNESDAY, January 5, 2005, 10:00 AM at the SOMERVILLE ELKS CLUB, ROUTE 28 (Union Avenue), BRIDGEWATER, NJ. Association tee shirts, jackets, decals, etc., are for sale at the meeting. |