newjerseynewsroom.com

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," said New Jersey State Police Special Operations Commander Major Edward Cetnar. "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 leads directly to thousands of serious injury or fatal crashes each year," stated FMCSA Division Administrator Christopher Rotondo. "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 during these three (3) years were a result of collisions between passenger vehicles and CMVs.

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

Enforement patrols commenced May 1st, and will run throughout the summer.

— ANDY LAGOMARSINO, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM