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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. Regular Business Meeting: WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2004 - 10:00 AM at the Somerville Elks Club, Route 28 (Union Avenue) Bridgewater, NJ BASIC ENGINEERING FOR POLICE OFFICERS: For police officers responsible for traffic investigations for installing or reviewing traffic control devices. Subjects include: Engineering principles; determining need for traffic control devices; traffic signal design and operation; pavement markings; design placement of regulatory signs; construction areas and school zones; drafting ordinances and resolutions. Instructors are former manager of DOT Traffic Engineering William Anderson, and David Martin, supervising engineer of DOT Engineering. Course begins on Thursday September 9, to November 15. Cost is $621.00, and AAA has been picking up part of the cost. Course location is the Rutgers Camden Campus, 33 North 5th Street, Room 120. For registration details call 732-923-3586. Class size is limited - first-come-first- served. NO EXCEPTIONS. MORRIS TOWNSHIP LT. CECIL SOLAGUREN RETIRING: Lt. Solaguren is stepping down as NJPTOA Secretary on September 1, 2004 due to retirement and will become a traffic investigator with the NJ D.O.T. He has been Secretary for the past ten years and we will remember him as the quiet guy in front of the room pounding on the laptop keyboard. Although he didn't have much opportunity to say a great deal, he was a hard worker and always worked in the best interests of the Association. We will miss him and wish him the best of luck with NJDOT. REGION 3 MEETING: September 8th, 10AM, Rossi's at Days Inn, 1691 Rt. 46, Ledgewood. A representative from Norfolk Bank will speak and is also hosting breakfast. For more information contact Sgt. Durkin, 973-321-1135. Region 3 is also holding a Benefit Cocktail Party on Sep, 20th in memory of John Samra, motorcycle officer killed in a motor vehicle crash, at the Brownstone, Paterson. Open bar and cigar roller on premises. For more info, contact Sgt. Durkin, 973-321-1135 or Capt. Sullivan, 973-835-5600. Cost - $60 per. BLIND SPOTS KILL KIDS: A 2-year-old girl was killed last Father's Day when run over by her father who was backing up a 2003 Ford Expedition at a family gathering. Because many SUV's have rear blind spots, Rep. Peter King is trying to pass federal legislation requiring mandatory back-up cameras or sensors on such vehicles. In 2003, 72 kids died in blind spot crashes. The numbers are hard to track because these crashes usually occur on private property and not classified as traffic-related. A Long Island pediatrician and vice president of Kids and Cars said, "as a result, the girl will not even become a statistic." He too accidentally ran over and killed his 2-year-old son in 2002. As of June 16, 2004, there were 266 fatalities recorded on NJ roads compared to 283 during the same period in 2003, A DECREASE OF 17 BODIES. .
During this period there were 161 driver deaths, 39 passengers, 52 pedestrians, 10 motorcycle drivers, 01 motorcycle passengers, and 03 pedacyclists. There were 266 Fatalities in 257 crashes. GOV SIGNED OUR INOPERABLE TRAFFIC SIGNAL BILL: 39:4-81.b. When, by reason of a power failure or other malfunction, a traffic control signal at an intersection is not illuminated, the driver of a vehicle or street car shall, with respect to that intersection, observe the requirement for a stop intersection, as provided in R.S.39:4-144. Eff: 7/9/04 (P.L.1951, c.23, s.40) 
D.O.T. ANNOUNCES LOWEST FATALITY RATE IN 2003:
: NHTSA announced the fatality rate and crash-related injuries dropped to a historic low in 2003, the lowest since record keeping began 29 years ago. Campaigns encouraging safety belt use, discouraging impaired driving, and tougher vehicle standards are significant factors for the reductions. 42,643 people died, and 2.89 million were injured in 2003. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) was 1.48 in 2003, down from 1.51 in 2002. In 2002, 43,005 were killed and 2.93 million were injured. Alcohol fatalities also dropped in 2003, the first such decline since 1999, as more states adopted .08 BAC laws. 2004 marks the first year that all 50 states were able to prosecute drivers at .08 BAC. In 2003, VMT increased to 2.88 trillion, up from 2.86 trillion in 2002. NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System shows between 2002 and 2003: Motorcyce fatalities increased from 3,270 to 3,661, rollover deaths among passenger vehicle occupants declined from 10,729 to 10,376. SUV rollover fatalities increased from 2,471 to 2,639. Rollovers declined in passenger cars 4,794 to 4,433) and pickup trucks from 2,755 to 2,569. Passenger vehicle occupant fatalities dropped to 31,904, the largest decrease since 1992. Pedestrian deaths declined, 4,851 in 2002 to 4,749. Fatalities in large truck crashes increased slightly from 4,939 to 4,986. In 2003, there was a decline in the number of unbelted fatalities, reflecting an increase in safety belt use. Still, 56 percent of those killed in passenger vehicles were not wearing safety belts. NHTSA estimates that highway crashes cost society $230.6 billion a year, about $820 per person. NEXT MEETING WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2004 - 10:00 AM Somerville Elks Club, Route 28 (Union Avenue) Bridgewater, NJ WE SALUTE OUR FIGHTING MEN AND WOMEN |