05/26/2010

News / NJTACT Drives Home Manners

New Jersey Targeting Aggressive Cars and Trucks

Princeton, N.J. – The New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) have partnered to deter unsafe driving behaviors between passenger vehicles and commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). The New Jersey Targeting Aggressive Cars and Trucks Program (NJTACT) is a selective traffic enforcement program (STEP). The goal of NJTACT is to reduce CMV related crashes, injuries, and fatalities by combining outreach, education, and evaluation with targeted enforcement.

“We’re enforcing aggressive driving laws on both sides of the equation because it takes compliance by commercial and private drivers to reduce deadly crashes between them, “New Jersey State Police Special Operations Commander Major Edward Cetnar stated. “Sharing the road safely is every driver’s responsibility.”

“Overwhelming evidence exists pointing to the fact that aggressive operations of both passenger automobiles and commercial motor vehicles directly leads to thousands of serious injury or fatal crashes each year.” FMCSA Division Administrator Christopher Rotondo stated. “Protect yourself and your passengers by learning how to share the road safely with large vehicles.”

From 2004 through 2006 there were 15,470 persons killed (11,051 were killed in passenger vehicles) in the United States which involved at least one truck. Another 336,000 were injured in large truck accidents. During the same period 1,242,000 large trucks were involved in crashes. Over 70 percent of the deaths and injuries in these 3 years were a result of collisions between passenger vehicles and CMVs.

Motorists should remember the following safety tips when driving near a large trucks:

* Stay out of the No-Zone. No-Zones are blind spots where your vehicle may disappear from the view of the truck.
* Stay visible! Large trucks need a much longer breaking distance than cars. Don’t cut into a truck’s space; if this happens it reduces a truck’s necessary breaking distance and restricts evasive action.
* Don’t tailgate a truck. The further you are away from a truck, the less likely you will be involved in a collision.
* Don’t speed. Obey all speed limits.
* Allow plenty of room. Large trucks are almost as wide as your lane of travel. Pacing too close behind one prevents you from reacting to changing traffic conditions and patterns.
* Buckle-up. Wearing your seatbelt is the single most important thing you can do to save your life in a crash.

Targeted Enforcement Areas:

* North: I-78 mp 45 east to the tolls
* Central: Route 1, mp 6 to mp 20
* South: I-295 mp 15 to mp 36
SH-42 - ACE to I-76
I-76 - entire length

Enforcement Patrols commenced May 1st, and will run throughout the summer.

http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases10/pr20100525a.html

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