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New law targets traffic fatalities

Commission will work to protect pedestrians

By: Colleen Wilson
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

TRENTON - Governor Phil Murphy signed a law Monday [01/13/2025] that will create a first-in-the-country commission made up of multiple state agencies dedicated to ending traffic fatalities by 2024, as New Jersey has experienced the worst rates of pedestrian fatalities in over 30 years.
..... The commission will be made up of 13 members, including representatives from the state police, the Health Department, the Community Affairs Department, NJ Transit, the Motor Vehicle Commission, the Office of Environmental Justice and the Turnpike Authority. The state transportation commissioner will chair the panel, which must have at least two annual public hearings.
..... "It will be a whole-of-government approach," Murphy said. "That's the big difference here."
..... The overall mission of the group is to review all aspects of traffic safety and identify ways to improve it through "engineering, education, and enforcement systems that analyze physical transpiration designs with a focus on the equitable treatment of all transportation users.
..... One enforcement method not allowed is the use of red-light cameras, according to the law.
..... Murphy said that by using "evidence-based initiatives to end traffic fatalities, we are taking a crucial step toward ensuring that a walk, a drive or a bike ride never again results in an empty seat at the table."
..... According to the new law, which was drafted by state Senator Pat Diegnan and Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak, both Middlesex County Democrats, the commissions must:
* Develop a plan that identifies "short-term and long-term data-driven strategies with measurable goals and target dates" and that requires input from the public and must be adopted within a year.
* Collect traffic safety data that will be made publicly available, including the most dangerous intersections in the state, traffic crash data with information on nonfatal injuries and demographic data, and a high-injury network that indicates roadways with the highest rates.
* Provide assistance to county and municipal governments regarding resources available to them to develop their own target-zero plans.
* Provide an updated report annually to the governor and Legislature before the third Sunday in November (which is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims).

Long journey to make pedestrian deaths a priority

..... The bill's signing was applauded by traffic safety advocates who have spent years working with the New Jersey Legislature on this issue.
..... For advocates, it has been a long journey to get state officials to make this issue a priority and change the status quo approach to preventing traffic deaths and serious injury.
..... Just last year, [2024] the state's newly installed transportation commissioner, Fran O'Connor, told legislators during the budget hearing that "the one thing we can't control is driver behavior" when asked about how the department was approaching the rise in traffic fatalities.
..... This comment came just months after a bill, very similar to the law signed Monday, [01/13/2025] was pulled at the last minute because of amendments that advocates said significantly weakened the bill.
..... with a statewide approach, the hope is that more municipalities can begin to reimagine their roadway and build on the work that has already taken place in a number of New Jersey communities.
..... Hoboken, Jersey City and Middlesex County have developed plans and funded traffic-calming measures such as protected bike lanes, four-way stops at intersections, high-visibility sidewalk corners and crosswalks. Hoboken has had zero pedestrian fatalities in seven years.

State has worst rates of traffic fatalities in the nation

..... The creation of this commission comes at a time when New Jersey is facing some of the worst rates of traffic fatalities in decades. A study published last year [2024] found that the Garden State was the most dangerous state in the country for pedestrians, and a report, first covered by The New York Times, found that there was a slowdown in traffic stops by state police that coincided with more crashes.
..... Asked about those findings and his comments on an independent investigation to understand why the state police stopped enforcement, Murphy declined to comment except to say that "we have to enforce the laws."
..... In 2024. traffic-related fatalities in New Jersey climbed to 692, the second-highest number since 2007. The most startling increase was among pedestrians: There were 223 pedestrian deaths in 2024, the highest number since 1988.
..... Pedestrian deaths in 2024 made up 32% of all traffic fatalities, the highest rate in the 53 years the New Jersey State Police have been collecting the data. Cyclists had the third-highest number of deaths since 1990.
..... Last year, [2024] Blue Jackets professional hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, were killed by an allegedly drunken driver while bicycling on a Salem County highway, an incident that made national headlines.
..... Rarely, however, do traffic deaths garner the same level of attention; even more rare are cyclists and pedestrians who survive those crashes.
..... Arland Macasieb originally of Clifton, is a three-time national champion triathlete who spent more than three decades training for those events on New Jersey roads. But on September 4, 2021, he was hit by a vehicle form behind while at an intersection in Fairfield and was crushed and severely injured, spending weeks in the hospital and a moth in rehab. He required 12 major surgeries.
..... "It never once crossed my mind that running and cycling on these roads - which are supposed to be healthy activities - could be hazardous for my health," Macasieb said.
..... "Too many of our roads have been designed for people in motor vehicles, and both pedestrians and cyclists like myself have to share space with those machines that weight thousands of pounds and travel at high speeds," he said.
..... "Today's [01/13/2025] signing of the New Jessey Target Zero Commission bill is so significant it marks a commitment to the building of infrastructure that will protect cyclist, walkers and all road users," he added.

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