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The Commissioner's Report
(archived)
McGreevey signs 'Safe Corridors' into law
Governor McGreevey has achieved another major legislative goal with the enactment of his comprehensive “Safety First” initiative, a bill that authorizes the NJDOT to designate “Safe Corridors” in New Jersey. More than 700 New Jerseyans lost their lives last year due to highway accidents, prompting the Governor to seek sweeping changes.
The new law authorizes the Commissioner of Transportation to designate segments of state highways as "Safe Corridors" based upon accident rates, fatalities, traffic volume, and other highway traffic safety criteria. Fines will be doubled for motor vehicle violations, such as speeding and reckless driving, committed within the corridors.
The initial corridors include:
- Route 1 between Lawrence and South Brunswick, and between South Brunswick and Edison
- Route 9 from Lakewood to Sayreville
- Route 22 between Branchburg and Newark
- Route 40 between Hamilton and Egg Harbor
- Route 46 from Netcong to West Paterson
- Route 47 in Millville and Vineland
- Route 73 between Voorhees and Maple Shade
- Route 206 through Montgomery and Hillsborough.
In addition, the law increases fines for out-of-state overweight trucks and requires truckers to complete a special driver education class to restore a suspended Commercial Driver License (CDL). Half of all “Safe Corridor” fines collected will be deposited in a new Highway Safety Fund. To be used exclusively for highway safety projects and programs, funds will be made available to State Police and municipal police departments for education, enforcement, and related measures that foster highway safety.
Governor McGreevey also released the final report of the Route 1 Safety Impact Team which contains short- and long-term recommendations for improving the safety of a 10-mile stretch of Route 1 in Mercer and Middlesex Counties. The team is a first-in-the-nation collaborative effort between state and federal officials.
The Governor announced $3 million in short-term improvements to Route 1 that will include upgrades to traffic signals, installation of new, larger signs, new pedestrian crosswalks and enhanced pavement markings.
The NJDOT has taken other steps in the Safety First campaign of “education, enforcement and engineering” initiatives, including actively promoting the #77 Aggressive Driver Hotline statewide; expediting the installation of 100 miles of safety barriers; allocating $20 million for engineering and technological highway improvements; adding 500 miles of raised pavement reflectors over the next two years; recording public safety announcements; and expanding driver education programs.
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