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.
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