New vehicles for Emergency Service Patrols
Next time your vehicle is broken down on a state highway, and an NJDOT Emergency Service Patrol (ESP) van pulls up, you’ll probably notice a difference. The service will be the same -- friendly, helpful and efficient -- but the van will look a bit different.
Commissioner Frank J. Wilson today announced that the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s ESP operating in North Jersey will begin using new vans to assist motorists with disabled vehicles.
The eight new red and white vans will replace the ESP’s existing fleet and come equipped with the following items: diesel and gasoline fuel containers; tire jacks; water containers; spill clean-up kits; safety signs and traffic cones; side lights and arrow boards; jumper cables; first aid kits; CB radios; and NJDOT low band radios and cellular phones.
Each van also comes equipped with special push bumpers to move disabled vehicles away from active travel lanes. The purchase of the fully-eqipped vans is federally-funded, with each van costing $53,400.
"Motorists in need of assistance can take comfort that ESP will be there, fully equipped and ready to help," the Commissioner said. "ESP has provided assistance to thousands of motorists since its inception in 1994. These new vans will allow our crews to provide even better service to our citizens."
ESP is a program that provides aid to disabled vehicles and stranded motorists. ESP workers wear uniforms and carry official identification badges. Changing flat tires is the most common type of assistance given by the ESP, followed by providing a gallon of gas, jump-starting dead vehicles and giving directions to lost motorists.
Studies have shown that for each minute a lane is blocked by a disabled vehicle, four minutes of congestion result. For every dollar spent on the ESP, $11 dollars in delay costs are saved by the motoring public. The yearly cost of this federally-funded program is $2.77 million.
The ESP North covers I-80, I-280 and I-287 in Morris, Essex and Bergen Counties. ESP is federally funded and operates on weekdays from 4:00 AM to 8:30 PM.
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