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spacer NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE
OFFICIAL NEWS RELEASE

 
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2002
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mike Wagers, NJSP
SFC Al Della Fave, NJSP Public Information Office
(609) 882-2000 x6514


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STATE POLICE CRACK-DOWN ON "BIG RIG" TRUCKS MOVING THROUGH CAMDEN NEIGHBORHOODS

Quality of Life & Pedestrian Safety Tied To Truck Enforcement Initiative

     Camden - As part of a joint Community-State Police-Camden leadership initiative to limit oversize and dangerous tractor-trailer trucks from traveling through residential neighborhoods, First Assistant Attorney General Peter C. Harvey and Joseph Santiago, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, today announced that State Police have stepped-up truck enforcement patrols and inspections on the Interstate highways and local streets in and around the Camden area.

     "This program was put in place to address complaints and concerns we received from Camden residents telling us that tractor-trailers and large trucks were creating safety problems while traveling through the city," said First Assistant Attorney General Harvey. "So we took action and started an initiative to crack-down on trucks recklessly moving through the Waterfront South area and the area of Broadway and Viola Avenue. We will continue to work with the Camden Police Department to ensure that trucks do not use restricted streets and that they operate safely and cleanly when traveling through the streets of Camden."

     According to Harvey and Superintendent Santiago, the Camden truck inspection and safety program is the centerpiece of an enforcement effort aimed at identifying, inspecting and removing unsafe tractor-trailer rigs from traversing Camden neighborhoods. The Camden-city truck enforcement program dovetails with a high-intensity, statewide State Police truck inspection effort targeting tractor-trailer trucks traveling on the interstate highway network and primary and secondary state highways for safety inspections and enforcement.

     Joining the First Assistant Attorney General in announcing the Camden truck enforcement program were Major Lori Hennon-Bell of the State Police Division Staff Bureau, Gloria Baffoe of The Heart of Camden Civic Group, Bonnie Sanders, a local resident who contacted the State Police about dangerous truck traffic, representatives of the Camden Police Department and representatives of the State Police Traffic Section.

     Superintendent Santiago noted that the Camden truck enforcement initiative is part of a comprehensive truck inspection program known as the National Network Compliance Project - a truck enforcement initiative which is in addition to the daily truck inspection patrols routinely conducted by State Police truck enforcement units.

     Specially trained state troopers assigned to the Commercial Carrier-Safety Inspection Unit, the Hazardous Materials Transportation Unit and the Diesel Emissions Unit, have significantly increased the number of safety inspections taking place on New Jersey's interstate highway system and primary and secondary state highways. Additionally, State Police have stepped-up enforcement of the regulation prohibiting trucks over 102 inches from traveling on prohibited non-interstate highways - specifically in urban neighborhoods where the safety of residents, school children and pedestrians might be threatened.

     Since undertaking the Camden truck enforcement program in mid-March, state troopers have focused on trucks moving through the East Camden area, including Morgan Blvd., Broadway Ave., Ferry Ave., Second through Fourth Streets and Atlantic Ave. Inspection activities are also being conducted in other areas of the city. Additionally, the Division of Criminal Justice has assigned a Deputy Attorney General to prosecute the violations in the Camden Municipal Court.

     Statewide, the stepped-up State Police enforcement efforts for 2002 (Jan. 1 - May 31) have resulted in state troopers stopping and inspecting 20,935 heavy-duty tractor-trailer trucks; the issuance of 24,436 summonses for motor vehicle and safety violations; 4,263 commercial vehicles taken off the road for 7,889 out-of-service violations; 620 drivers removed from the road for motor vehicle and/or safety-related violations and 74 summonses for oversize vehicles traveling on prohibited roadways. Total truck safety inspections is projected to exceed 50,000 vehicles by the end of 2002 - a statistic that will put the New Jersey State Police truck inspection and safety program first in the nation.

     Overall truck enforcement efforts by the State Police Traffic Bureau and the specialized Commercial Carrier-Safety Inspection Unit, Diesel Emissions Unit, Hazardous Materials Transport Enforcement Unit and Tactical Patrol Units from Troop A (South Jersey), Troop B (North Jersey) and Troop C (Central Jersey), have resulted in a steady increase of truck inspections statewide:

  2001 2000
Total Safety Inspections: 46,361 42,809
Truck Summonses: 41,692 28,077
Vehicles Out-of-Service: 9,420 7,321
Out-of-Service Violations: 16,103 12,540

     The safety inspections are conducted at various levels: A Level I inspection is a thorough and complete inspection of driver and vehicle credentials and hours of service combined with a complete vehicle check of major operating systems such as brakes, steering and all visible mechanical components. A Level II inspection is a check of driver credentials and a visible inspection of the vehicle. A Level III inspection is a check of driver credentials.

     According to Harvey and Santiago, the intensified truck inspection and safety enforcement program is part of continuing State Police efforts to improve motorist safety and enforce the ban on oversize tractor-trailer trucks from utilizing secondary roadways to shortcut state toll roads and interstate highways.

     The State Police Traffic Bureau will continue to assign special truck enforcement units to conduct enforcement activities throughout north, south and central Jersey. The State Police Superintendent has instructed all personnel involved in the enforcement effort that they will enforce a 100 percent compliance policy - any vehicle stopped and found to be in violation will be ticketed and/or removed from the highway.


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