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Chief William Cicchetti, President Sgt. Richard Maxwell 1st Vice-President (Ret.) Chief Tony Parenti, Editor MEETING NOTICES: Board Of Directors: The next Board meeting is at the call of the President. Next Regular Business Meeting: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008, beginning at 10:00 AM, at the Somerville Elks Club, Route 28 (Union Ave.), Bridgewater, NJ. There will be a demonstration of the Nester Red Light Camera System. This system detects red light violators and holds the signal for cross traffic vehicles until the violator safely leaves the intersection.  PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: If you didn't attend the Police/Security Expo in Atlantic City on June 25th you missed seeing the latest in modern traffic safety equipment and law enforcement technology. This was the largest Expo ever in vendor booths and attendance. Be sure to put this on your "to do list" for next year. We'll give you the date as soon as we receive it. Our e-mail roster continues to grow. If you are not already on it please consider doing so. This saves us postage and gets important information to you as soon as we receive it. As you'll see elsewhere in this newsletter there were 6 fatalities on NJ roads over the July 4th weekend, one more than the same weekend last year. The significant difference is there was 1 motorcycle driver death last year compared to 2 this year thus raising the 2008 total to 42. Motorcycle deaths are going up and will continue to rise as people seek cheaper forms of transportation due to the spike in gasoline prices. Statistics show that many deaths were due to cyclist inexperience and traffic law violations. In an effort to try to curb motorcycle deaths I am asking that you step up enforcement of traffic laws. Enjoy what's left of the summer and Stay Safe, Bill. SEVENTH ANNUAL NHTSA REGION 2 CHILD SAFETY CONFERENCE: September 24-26, 2008 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, NJ, (Rate - $99/night). Conference Registration by August 1, $125, after August 1, $150, daily rate, $100. Pre Conference Workshops - NHTSA School Bus, $50, Refresher Course, $50. The Conference brings together students, working parents, law enforcement and emergency medical personnel. They are offering two pre-conference workshops on Wednesday, September 24. Each session qualifies for six CEU's. For more information contact Michele Mount, (973) 245-4859 or mmount@njac.aaa.com. 
COURSE OFFERINGS: The following are upcoming courses. Crash Investigation 1: 9/8/08 to 9/19/08; Essex County College Police Academy, 250 Grove Ave., Cedar Grove, NJ, Pete Cokelet - 973-877-4469. Crash Investigation II: 9/22/08 to 10/3/08; Burlington County Police Academy, County Rt. 530, Pemberton, NJ Jackie Volpe - 609-726-7270. Dynamics: 9/8/08 to 9/12/08, Monmouth County Fire Academy, 1027 Highway 33 East, Freehold, NJ, Lt. George Veit 732-577-8754. Traffic Crash Reconstruction: 9/8/08 to 9/19/08, Camden County Police Academy, P. O. Box 200, Blackwood, NJ, Dave Baldino, 856-374-5000. Applied Physics for Traffic Crash Investigation: 9/8/08 to 9/12/08 - Gloucester County Police Academy, 1400 Tanyard Road, Sewell, NJ, Sue Rothfuss, 856-415-2266. Pedestrian/Bicycle Crash Investigation: 9/15/08 to 9/19/08, Middlesex County Police Academy, 1391 Nixon Station, Edison, NJ, Lois Camisa - 732-225-0750. REQUEST FOR VEHICLES: The NJ Association of Accident Reconstruction needs cars for crash testing at their conference in Atlantic City this Fall. If you have any old police vehicles or cars in the impound yard you would like to get rid of please contact NJAAR President Frank Volpicella at Retvolped@aol.com. The cars do not have to be operable and they will arrange to pick them up. You can obtain information on the conference, updates, and registration form by visiting www.NJAAR.org. 
As of July 14, 2008 there were 302 fatalities recorded on NJ roads compared to 365 during the same period in 2007, A DECREASE OF 63 DEATHS. Note: These figures are only preliminary
So far this year there were 175 Driver deaths, 49 Passengers, 68 Pedestrians, 10 Pedacyclists, and 22 Motorcyclists. There were 302 fatalities in 286 crashes. NJPTOA TRAFFIC SAFETY E-MAIL ALERT ROSTER GROWING: We now have nearly 300 on the roster comprising of traffic officers, safety agencies in the public and private sector, and traffic safety vendors. We are trying to build the largest network for reaching traffic officers to provide them with timely information from top-notch sources. Subscribe by contacting tparenti@comcast.net, 908-322-8583, or NJPTOA@HOTMAIL.com, 856-220-1433. You can subscribe to the e-mail or postal mail service, either one but we cannot send both. For your protection we keep our e-mail list secure and will not divulge it to anyone under any circumstances. FORD "SMART VEHICLE" TECHNOLOGY: Ford Motor Company is featuring new technologies in their vehicles; adaptive cruise control and blind spot information system with cross traffic alert. Adaptive Cruise Control: Conventional cruise control allows the driver to set vehicle speed and maintain that speed without using the accelerator pedal. Adaptive cruise control is a radar-based system that monitors traffic in front (up to 600 feet) and adjusts the speed of the vehicle to keep it a safe distance behind the lead vehicle. The blind spot information system with cross traffic alert feature helps warn drivers of impending traffic while backing out by using radar to pick up moving objects within a 65-foot range from either side of the vehicle. Two warnings are given. An indicator lights up in the corresponding outside mirror and an audible alert is sounded. The feature works in conjunction with Ford's radar-based blind-spot monitoring system using this system's two multiple beam radar modules that are packaged in the rear quarter panels, one per side. The radar identifies when a vehicle enters the defined blind spot zone and illuminates an indicator light on the corresponding sideview mirror providing a warning that a vehicle is approaching. 
CALIFORNIA'S NEW CELL PHONE LAW: California's new cell phone law bans drivers from using handheld cellphones went into effect on July 1st. Drivers involved in a crash while using a cell phone face civil judgments or even jail if it's a fatal crash. Even though a cellphone violation in a fatal crash alone may not justify a felony charge, it could prompt a misdemeanor manslaughter charge. Those found guilty face up to a year of jail time for each death resulting from the crash. WAYNE KOVELESKIE NO LONGER WITH STALKER/ACI: For the past 10 years Wayne has been a popular sight at our meetings and has always been helpful in promoting traffic officers and safety. He is no longer with Stalker/ACI and has joined up as Regional Sales Manager for Watchguard Video supplying in-car cameras to law enforcement. He will continue attending our meetings and avail us with his friendship and vast experience in traffic safety. His new contact number is 609-410-9091. E-mail: waynekoveleskie@yahoo.com. TIRES HAVE A SHELF" LIFE: Tires 6 years or older have a great potential for tread separation, regardless if they were ever on the road or not. Tires made before 2000 have three numbers at the end of the DOT code and tires made after 2000 have four numbers. For example a tire with the last three numbers of 385 indicates the tire was manufactured in the 38th week of 1995. Four numbers, 3802, indicates a manufacture date in the 38th week of 2002. 
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY BELTS AND BULLETPROOF VEST SALUTE OUR WAR HEROES - NEVER FORGET THE DEPARTED NEXT MEETING SEPTEMBER 3rd - SOMERVILLE ELKS CLUB |