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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: NOTE: There will not be a meeting on June 1, 2005. Instead, the Next Regular Business Meeting is on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005, 10:00 AM at THE CONVENTION CENTER IN ATLANTIC CITY. After the meeting, we will tour the Police Security Expo as guests of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. Invite as many guests as you desire to attend the meeting and the expo. As usual, there will be cash and equipment prizes donated by vendors. Also, remember we do not meet during the months of July and August unless there is pressing business.  NJAAR SEMINAR: The New Jersey Association of Accident Reconstructionists is conducting a half-day meeting/seminar on Crash Investigation on Interviewing, Statement Taking Techniques, and Methods for Crash Investigators, for Traffic Officers and Detectives. The seminar will take place on Wednesday, June 1 at 9:00 a.m. at the John Stamler Police Academy 1776 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains, NJ (Call 908-889-6112 for directions). The program is free of charge. Register by visiting the NJAAR web site at www.NJAAR.org REVISED NJTR-1 IMPLEMENTATION POSTPONED: The revised NJTR-1 implementation date of July 1, 2005 has been postponed. The new date for the revised NJTR-1 is now January 2006. Train the Trainer courses will be offered in early fall of 2005. New NJTR-1 will be posted on the NJDOT website listed below for you to review after Monday, May 15, 2005. http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/accident/policeres.shtm DO NOT use the new version of the NJTR-1 at this time! It is posted only for review and informational purposes. Please pass this information on to appropriate personnel including records management. If your agency is a communications center, please broadcast this message to your client agencies, as well. 
CELLULAR PHONE USE ON THE RISE: According to NHTSA, more motorists are using cellular phones while they drive. In 2004, an estimated 8 percent of all motorists in the U.S. or about 1.2 million drivers, were using cellular phones (both hand-held and hands-free) while operating their vehicles. This compares to 6 percent in 2002 and 4 percent in 2000. The survey also estimated that 5 percent of motorists in 2004, or about 800,000 drivers, were using hand-held cellular phones at any given daylight time, compared to 4 percent of drivers in 2002 and 3 percent in 2000. Among the latest findings: Hand-held cellular phone use increased among drivers between the ages of 16 and 24, from 5 percent in 2002 to 8 percent in 2004. For all age groups, hand-held cellular phone use increased among female drivers, from 4 percent in 2002 to 6 percent in 2004. Men using hand-held cellular phones remained steady at 4 percent from 2002 to 2004. Motorists are more likely to use phones when driving alone. In 2004, 6 percent of drivers traveling alone were holding cellular phones, compared to 2 percent of drivers who had at least one passenger. However, drivers who had at least one child passenger (7 years old or younger) were as likely to use a hand-held cellular phone as were drivers with no children on board (both at 5 percent of observed drivers in 2004). 101 DAYS OF SUMMER: Those of you that did not attend the 101 Days kickoff on May 19th missed a good program with a superb day on the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights. The emphasis for the 101 days this year is on safety belt and DWI enforcement. The event highlighted the dangers of the 101 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Now it's up to the law enforcement community to do their part by lessening the danger by enforcing traffic laws. 
As of Week 20, 2005 , there were 189 fatalities recorded on NJ roads compared to 196 during the same period in 2004, DECREASE OF 7 BODIES. .
As of this report, there were 115 driver deaths, 35 passengers, 34 pedestrians, 05 motorcycle drivers, 00 motorcycle passengers, and 00 pedacyclists. There were 189 fatalities in 175 crashes. VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY SAVES LIVES: Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta announced that nearly 329,000 lives have been saved by vehicle safety technologies since 1960. Of all the safety features added since 1960, safety belts accounted for over half of all lives saved. The study also says government-mandated safety standards have added about $839 in costs and 125 pounds to the average passenger car when compared to pre-1968 vehicles. "The Department has worked diligently to reduce highway deaths," Mineta said. "Thousands of our friends, neighbors and family members are alive today because of these safety innovations." According to the study, the number of lives saved annually increased steadily from 115 per year in 1960 to nearly 25,000 per year in 2002. The study examined a myriad of safety features, including braking improvements, safety belts, air bags, energy-absorbing steering columns, child safety seats, improved roof strength and side impact protection, shatter-resistant windshields and instrument panel upgrades. It did not evaluate relatively new technologies like side air bags and electronic stability control systems. Assessing the costs, NHTSA estimated that safety technologies cost about $544,000 for every life saved. They added about the same cost to a new vehicle as popular options like CD players, sunroofs, leather seats or custom wheels. KIDS SAFER IN BACK SEAT: According to a recent study, children are safer in car crashes when they sit in the back seat, when they are in safety seats or using safety belts. Researchers found the combination of sitting in the back seat and using safety restraints would prevent more than 1,000 of the 3,665 injuries to children under 16 in crashes. Almost one-third of the nearly 1,800 children who died in car crashes in 2003 were riding in the front seat and more than half were not belted. Also, children are 40 percent safer in the back seat than the front seat and the risk for injury drops to less than 2 percent when safety restraints are used. 
REMEMBER TO PAY DUES: Membership dues notices were posted in the Newsletter several times and bills were included in the January Newsletter. If your department membership dues are not paid by June 1, 2005, your department may be dropped from the rolls of this Association. If you are not sure of the status of your dues check with the NJPTOA office at 908-322-7773. RADAR SURVEY: If you haven't sent in the information on the radar in use by your department, please do as quickly as possible. We need this information to help convince the gang in Trenton that something has to be done to have the courts acknowledge the reliability of all radar devices and not just the MPH K-55. We will be meeting with the Attorney General to discuss this soon and your information will help the cause tremendously. Thanks. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR BULLET PROOF VEST AND SAFETY BELTS SUPPORT OUR TROOPS NEXT MEETING - JUNE 22, 2005 - CONVENTION CENTER IN ATLANTIC CITY |