TRAFFIC SAFETY

If you have any questions regarding traffic related issues contact:
P.O. Scott McGovern at (201) 670-3946 Ext. 1 or E-Mail via Traffic Division.

SEAT BELT LAW CHANGE

In January 2010, New Jersey's seat belt law was upgraded. It is now required by law that all people in an automobile are required to wear their seatbelts. While a car may be stopped for the front seat driver and passengers not wearing their seatbelts as a "primary offense", the rear seat passengers are considered a "secondary offense" and must be stopped for something other than the rear seat passengers not wearing their seat belts.

New Jersey's new rear seat belt law:

	DOES NOT increase the existing fine for not wearing a seat belt;
	DOES NOT add points to a driver's motor vehicle record;
	DOES NOT create a new surcharge or additional payment fees

New Jersey's new seat belt law:

	applies to all passenger vehicles that are required to be equipped with seat belts
	applies to drivers, front and rear seat passengers
	continues the existing requirement that the driver is responsible for seat belt use by front and rear seat passengers who are under the age of 18

New Jersey’s existing child passenger law:

New Jersey ’s child passenger safety law allows Officers to stop and issue a summons to a motorist solely for not securing children as legally required. These are the guidelines for the child passenger safety law that will keep you in compliance with the law.

Infants up to 20 pounds and one year of age must be secured in the back seat of a motor vehicle in a federally approved rear-facing infant or convertible car seat. (Many newer convertible seats are approved for rear-facing use up to 30-35 pounds). If the motor vehicle doesn’t have a back seat, the infant must be secured in the front seat of the vehicle in the same rear-facing manner. A rear-facing car seat, however, should NEVER be installed in the front seat of a motor vehicle equipped with an active airbag. Prior to installing a rear-facing car seat, the air bag must be switched to off (if the vehicle is equipped with an on/off switch) or permission to deactivate the airbag must be obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Additionally, the front seat should be pushed back as far as possible.

Children between 20 and 40 pounds (applies to most children between one and four years of age) must be secured in the back seat of a motor vehicle in a federally approved convertible car seat or a booster seat (with a five point harness system). The child must be facing forward in an upright position. If there is no back seat in the motor vehicle, the child must be secured in the front seat of the vehicle in the same forward facing manner, with the vehicles seat pushed back as far as possible.

Children between 40 and 80 pounds (applies to most children between four and eight years of age) must be secured in the back seat of a motor vehicle in a federally approved booster seat using the lap and shoulder belt. If there is no back seat in the motor vehicle, the child must be secured in the front seat in the same manner as the back, with the vehicle’s seat pushed back as far as possible.

All passengers under 18 years of age (but older that 8 years of age or weighing more than 80 pounds) are required to wear a seat belt when riding anywhere in a motor vehicle. Children under 12 should ride in the back seat of a motor vehicle – the safest place – when possible.

CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY

Despite widespread efforts to educate drivers about the importance of properly restraining children in vehicles, auto accidents continue to be a leading cause of death among young people. Almost six out of ten children killed in collisions are unrestrained, indicating that a large number of these deaths could be are prevented. In New Jersey, as well as many other states, it is illegal for children to ride unrestrained, yet in four out of ten cases, drivers don’t properly restrain their young passengers. Glen Rock police officers are extremely concerned about this problem and are quite vigilant in stopping and issuing summonses to drivers who violate this provision of the motor vehicle laws.

SAFETY POINTS

Children 12 and under should ride properly restrained in a rear seat.
Infants should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger side air bag.
Small children should ride in a rear seat in child safety seats approved for their age and size.
Check your vehicle owner’s manual and the instructions provided with your child safety seat for correct use information.
Everyone should buckle both lap and shoulder belts where available.

GLEN ROCK POLICE HONORED

From L to R: Chief Fred Stahman, SGT. Frank Riggio,, AAA V.P. James Dobi, P.O. Scott McGovern

At a recent AAA North Jersey Community Traffic Safety luncheon, Glen Rock Police were presented with the AAA Award of Excellence. The award is presented to communities for outstanding traffic safety program activities. The Glen Rock Police Department conducts roving D.W.I. patrols, speed enforcement details, other various motor vehicle check points and inspections, and is active in the school system. The department also conducts child safety seat inspections and installations.

CHILD SAFETY SEAT EDUCATION & INSTALLATION PROGRAM

The Glen Rock Police Department is resuming its Child Passenger Safety Seat Program.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

SPEED & TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT
Stealth Police Car

As part of our normal patrol operations, the Glen Rock Police Department enforces all laws governing the safe operation of motor vehicles. All marked patrol units are equipped with state-of-the-art radar units to monitor and deter speed limit violators. Towards that goal the department also utilizes two "stealth" police vehicles. These patrol cars are fully marked, but do not have the customary emergency lighting equipment on its roof, thus making it more difficult for violators to detect.

Speed & Message Display Trailer

As an additional deterrent and safety measure, the department purchased in June of 2000 a digital SPEED TRAILER. di

The 900 pound trailer is towed by a police vehicle to an area in town that needs additional enforcement and set up for monitoring speed. While the speeds displayed on the message board are accurate, this trailer is not designed to take photos of passing cars or used to issue summonses. The message board is equipped to not only display the speed of oncoming traffic, but can also be set to display pre-programmed or custom messages.

Use of this sign, followed with periodic enforcement, has proven to be an effective means of making drivers more aware of their speed. As a reminder, most borough streets and roadways have a posted speed limit of 25 MPH.

If you feel a need for additional enforcement on your street, please contact the Traffic Safety Division.

Rules for Provisional Drivers' Licenses:
Updated March 30, 2010

GRADUATED DRIVER LICENSE PROGRAM FOR TEENS:

The G.D.L. law, which became effective Jan. 1, 2001, includes provisions that:

	extend the amount of time between the granting of a permit and eligibility for a license,
	institute an intermediate, or "probationary" license for new drivers,
	place restrictions on the driving hours and number of passengers on first-year drivers under age 21.

A special learner’s permit is issued to 16-year-olds enrolled in driving schools or behind-the-wheel driver education programs in their high schools. They are prohibited from practice driving from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. (formerly midnight to 5 a.m.), and their supervising driver will have to be at least 21 years of age, have a New Jersey driver’s license, and have three years of driving experience. Upon completing of driver training and passing a State administered driver's test, drivers will be granted a Probationary Driver's License.

New Jersey Probationary Drivers License - Special Conditions Effective May 1, 2010

On May 1, 2010, the requirements for all teens (16-20 years of age) holding a permit or provisional license under New Jersey's Graduated

Driver License (GDL) Law, will change. To ensure that GDL holders comply with the law, they and their parents should be aware that the

teen driver:

	may not be on the road between 11:01 p.m. and 5 a.m.
	may transport only one passenger in the vehicle besides his or her dependents (their own child, not brothers or sisters).

(Note: If a parent or guardian is in the vehicle, the passenger restriction is waived and the teen may transport as many passengers as there are seat belts.)

may not use a cell phone (hand-held or hands-free), ipod or other wireless electronic device.

(Note: GPS systems - portable or built-in - and ipods connected to a vehicle's sound system are permitted, but a teen should not make any adjustments

to these devices while driving.)

must ensure that all vehicle occupants are properly restrained in child safety seats or seat belts.

must display a decal on the front and rear license plate.

may not plea bargain any point carrying offenses.

There will be NO grandfathering of existing permit and provisional license holders. Regardless of how much time a GDL holder has

remaining on her or his permit or provisional license, s/he must abide by these requirements beginning May 1. In addition, the name of

the provisional license will change to probationary; this will be reflected on documents issued after May 1.

THE DECAL

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is charged with designing and distributing the decal, which must be displayed on a vehicle's

front and rear license plate when a permit or provisional license holder under 21 years of age is driving. The decal will be:

affixed with a velcro system to allow for its removal when the GDL holder is not behind the wheel.

reflectorized so that it can be seen at night.

non-descript

(it is intended for enforcement purposes).

$4 per pair at MVC agencies.

M

Probationary Drivers License Violations:CENS

$100 fine for violations of any of the conditions of a probationary license.
More than one probationary license violation conviction can result in the suspension of the probationary driver's driving privileges.
All holders of a probationary driver’s license whose probationary licensing period is NOT extended by MVC beyond the standard 12 months MUST upgrade to a basic drivers license after the end of the 12 months. Motorists who are eligible for but who do NOT upgrade to a Basic Driver License at the end of those 12 months will remain subject to MVC’s Probationary Driver License regulations and could be cited by law enforcement for violating Probationary Driver License regulations.

The preceding information can be found at www.njteendriving.com - New Jersey's online resource for all things teen driving.

Driving while talking on a cellular phone:

As of July 1, 2004, you can no longer talk on a hand-held wireless telephone while driving in New Jersey.

However, you can use a “HANDS-FREE” wireless telephone to talk while driving.

This new law will be enforced on all public roadways in New Jersey.

Certain situations, such as for reporting medical and roadside emergencies and hazards, criminal acts and other similar circumstances, are exempt.

A violation of this law can result in a fine of up to $250.

AGGRESSIVE DRIVERS

Over the past year the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, New Jersey Division of State Police, New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association and the New Jersey Traffic Officers Association initiated the Aggressive Driver Campaign. Their goal is to remove the aggressive drivers from our roadways. As this pilot program begins, police are currently focusing their attention on state highways. An aggressive driver is anyone who operates a motor vehicle in an abusive, offensive, hostile or belligerent manner and who creates an unsafe environment for other vehicles on the roadway. Many motor vehicle accidents can be attributed to the aggressive driver, often resulting in injuries and deaths on our highways.

The aggressive driver is identified as anyone who commits violations such as:

Driving while intoxicated
Speeding
Following too closely
Making unsafe lane changes
Driving carelessly or inattentively
Disregarding traffic signals or stop signs
Failing to keep right

A toll free telephone number, 1-888-SAF-ROAD, (1-888-732-7623) can be called to report aggressive drivers at any time.

REMEMBER: The law requires that you must STOP for pedestrians in crosswalks.

If you have any questions regarding traffic related issues contact:
P.O. Scott McGovern at (201) 670-3946 Ext. 1 or E-Mail via Traffic Division.