Tag: drivers

Posted on

Reader says , “I am certain that there would be fewer accidents if drivers paid attention to the road and not their electronic devices when driving”

public saftey cbd theridgewoodblog.net

” I am certain that there would be fewer accidents if drivers paid attention to the road and not their electronic devices when driving. Also , when I walk in the CBD I wait for cars to stop and let me cross and they often do not especially on Broad Street in front of the Super Cellars area and Union St. in back of Talbots. Why? because there are no police there. Cars stop in front of Van Neste Square because there are police cars there watching.
Cars are vehicles controlled by people. Many of the people driving cars hate other people and would just as soon run over someone and kill them. Have you noticed in the news how many hit and run driving incidents there are. The question is why are so many people so hateful. Is it because the area is expensive and crowded; is it some kind of me first attitude, and you can go to hell. Of course those things all contribute. Does anyone know other reasons , or the reason? “

Posted on

New Jersey State Police remind you to leave a little extra time and a little extra space

48178692 1924973384223861 230851416963416064 n1

the staff of the Ridgewood blog 

Ridgewood NJ, the New Jersey State Police remind you to leave a little extra time and a little extra space. 

Although winter is still a little over a week away, cold temperatures and winter weather are upon us nevertheless. Parts of North Jersey are expected to get some light snow tomorrow morning and into the afternoon, which could create hazardous road conditions.

Now, meteorologists aren’t predicting a blizzard, but light snow can still create dangerous driving conditions. The best thing you can do to help us and crews tasked with treating and clearing the roads is to avoid driving during inclement weather if you can. Less traffic creates a safer environment for the men and women working on the roadways during inclement weather.

But we do know that many of you will have no choice but to drive to work. Fortunately, there are few things you can do to keep yourself and others safe when driving on snow-covered roads. First, you can #SlowYourRoll! Driving at speeds too fast for the road conditions is often a contributing factor in snow-related crashes and spinouts. These types of crashes not only put our Troopers in danger, they also put you, your occupants and other emergency personnel (like tow-truck drivers and first responders) in danger as well. Other cars spinning out of control are deadly to pedestrians at a scene.

The next best thing you can do is to leave extra room between you and the vehicle in front of you should you have to brake unexpectedly. Even anti-lock brakes are not enough to stop a slowing or stopping car sliding on slick, snowy roads. Oh, and plan to leave for work a little earlier. Because you’ll be rolling slower, right?

Troopers will be on patrol to assist you if you need us. Hopefully, you won’t require our services. Snow is expected to start in the morning. Snow totals will vary depending on where you live with some areas getting a wintry mix. For more in-depth updates, go to the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Facebook page.

Be safe, people!

Posted on

Reader says the 25 mph speed limit just a feel-good-knee-jerk panacea implemented by a politically ambitious

Driver_Loses_Control3_theridgewoodblog

To the person claiming 25mph speed limits will reduce accidents and fatalities in Ridgewood by citing statistics from a city of London England traiffic study, please cite REAL statistics from the Village of Ridgewood on a street by street basis from prior to Ridgewood’s implementation of the 25mph speed limit to after its implementation. Show me any increase in safety of Ridgewood residents.
All the other theoretical and statistical studies are largely irrelevant to Ridgewood.
.
We can also argue the banning all cars is statistically safer, so lets ban all cars.
.
And while we are on the subject, why is Lincoln Ave not resticted to 25mph in Ridgewood?
Are the children on Lincoln Avenue not as important as other Ridgewood children?
Are the children on Lincoln Avenue smarter then other Ridgewood children and are able to better aviod being stuck by cars?
.
Or is the 25 mph speed limit just a feel-good-knee-jerk panacea implemented by a politically ambitious disgraced politician looking to get ahead professionally.

Posted on

Click it or Ticket: NJ cops will pull over thousands of drivers for 2 weeks

ridgewood police

file photo by Boyd Loving

By Jen Ursillo May 21, 2017 8:00 PM

For two weeks, starting Monday and ending June 4, law enforcement agencies across New Jersey will be out and about pulling over drivers who aren’t wearing seat belts.

Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety, says 375 police agencies, including the State Police, are expected to take part in the campaign. In May 2016, 387 agencies participated.

“We’re trying to encourage motorists and passengers to buckle up,” he said. “Seat belts save thousands of lives every year but far too many motorists are still not buckling up. In our opinion, buckling is not an option. It’s a difference between life and death in a crash.”

Read More: Click it or Ticket: NJ cops will pull over thousands of drivers for 2 weeks | https://nj1015.com/click-it-or-ticket-nj-cops-will-pull-over-thousands-of-drivers-for-2-weeks/?trackback=tsmclip

Posted on

Why this could be the last week for cheap gas in N.J.

gas tax nj

By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on February 20, 2017 at 8:32 AM, updated February 20, 2017 at 11:15 AM

This week for gas prices might be like the last hours of a great party that you wish could last longer, but you know is starting to wind down.

On Friday, the average price for regular in the state was $2.32 a gallon, but discount stations ranged between $2.07 and $2.09, GasBuddy.com reported. An average price of $2.20 or less wasn’t hard to find.

There are two factors that drivers can thank for keeping prices low at the pump — lousy demand for gas and tremendous supplies of it. But low gas prices aren’t going to last much longer, experts said.

https://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2017/02/why_this_could_be_the_last_week_for_cheap_gas_in_nj.html#incart_river_home

Posted on

Trenton Democrats Want to Make Drinking Coffee While Driving In N.J. Illegal

ridgewoodcoffee theridggewoodblog
August 6,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , New Jersey Democrat Lawmakers are at it again ,and they want to take away your morning coffee. Under the guise of trying to crack down on distracted driving NJ Democrats are looking to ban anything that takes your hands off a steering wheel, including eating, drinking coffee.

Democrat lawmakers are currently pushing a bill, A-1908, that specifically prohibits a driver from engaging in any activity such as eating, drinking or using electronic devices not related to the operation of the vehicle. New Jersey already bans cellphone usage while driving.Violators could face fines from $200 to $400 for the first offense, $400 to $600 for a second offense and $600 to $800 for a third or subsequent offense. A third violation may also result in a driver’s license suspension of up to 90 days and a motor vehicle points penalty at the court’s discretion.

No surprise the bill is sponsored by Assemblyman John Wisniewski, a Democrat in Middlesex County, and Nicholas Chiaravalloti, a Democrat in Hudson County. The bill is modeled after a similar law in Maine that punishes drivers for using an electronic device, applying cosmetics or performing personal grooming while driving.
The bill was introduced early this year and has been referred to the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee. No votes have been scheduled so far but its August and the only people left in Trenton are the people with no friends perhaps sizing up another opportunity to pick New Jersey tax payers pockets clean.
Democrat Wisniewski has pushed similar bills in the past, saying that, ” education is an important goal not ticketing everyone who drives.” Sure John and have I got a bridge to sell you.
Once again Trenton is in a desperate quest for funds and clearly willing to say or do anything to get into your pocket. Will they next announce that the “Coffee fines” will make up for the public pension short fall or fund the Transportation Slush Fund ,we mean Trust Fund. Stay tuned you cant make this stuff up.
Posted on

Beware of the ticket blitz: Bergen County eyes drivers, pedestrians in safety push

October is Pedestrian Safety Awareness Month

OCTOBER 6, 2015, 11:10 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2015, 6:54 AM
BY JOHN CICHOWSKI
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD

After 45 pedestrian deaths in two years, the Bergen County sheriff, prosecutor and dozens of other public officials gathered in Hackensack on Tuesday to put walkers as well as drivers on notice:

Starting this month, whether on foot or behind the wheel, obey pedestrian laws or expect a ticket.

“I’m asking all police departments to issue summonses even for jaywalking,” Sheriff Michael Saudino announced to a crowd at a news conference on the steps of the county Justice Complex.

The reason: “A week doesn’t go by that I don’t get a phone call about a citizen being struck and killed in our county,” added Prosecutor John Molinelli.

Death counts explain much of this rationale:

A total of 21 lives were lost while crossing county thoroughfares in 2013 (more than double the 2012 count of 9) and 24 more deaths were added in 2014 — the most in at least 16 years, according to state police records. The percentage increases accounted for a higher rate of carnage than the statewide pedestrian death toll, which reached 170 last year, the most since the 2002 count of 176.

“We have to do better,” Saudino said in an interview. “Drivers and pedestrians both need to be better educated, and our engineers have to look closely at some of our roadways to make them safer.”

For two weeks starting now, motorists will begin seeing “Focus here” billboards that picture a family at a crosswalk alongside a photo of a phone that accompanies this slogan — “Not here.”

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/road-warrior-beware-of-the-ticket-blitz-bergen-county-eyes-drivers-pedestrians-in-safety-push-1.1426649

Posted on

Drivers in N.J. and N.Y. pay one-third of all tolls collected in U.S.

Lincoln Tunnel

By Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The top three tolling agencies in the country are all in the New York-New Jersey region, and together account for nearly a third of all tolls collected nationwide, an industry group says.

The top three are: the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which collected $1.42 billion in tolls on the turnpike and the Garden State Parkway in 2013; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which took in $1.33 billion at its four bridges and two tunnels linking the two states; and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which collected $1.23 billion at its New York City bridges and tunnels.

The top ten list was compiled by the International Bridges, Tunnels and Turnpike Association, a group based in Washington, D.C. The $4 billion in tolls the three agencies took in was nearly a third of the $13 billion collected from motorists nationwide, the IBTTA found.

https://snip.ly/PXxN#https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/drivers_in_nj_and_ny_pay_one-third_of_all_tolls_collected_in_us.html#incart_river_home

Posted on

Drivers are becoming more dangerous

late_night2_Ridgewood_crash_theridgewoodblog.net_

file photo Boyd Loving

Drivers are becoming more dangerous

OCTOBER 24, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2014, 9:58 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print

Drivers are more dangerous today
Linda Moran

To the Editor:

We all know that over the years, traffic has gotten heavier and drivers have not adjusted their patience level. Instead, one might say that we’ve all adjusted to the impatience. But perhaps the extent of the hurriedness is never more obvious than when you are teaching a teenager to drive. This is my third child I’m teaching to drive, and again, I am appalled at the behavior of drivers, and not just at any old time of day, but during school dropoff hours, when many of those drivers are school parents themselves, and those who aren’t parents should know better – it’s hard to overlook the buses, crossing guards and kids with backpacks.

Recently, as my son was driving west on East Glen Avenue getting ready to turn onto Van Dien, an SUV came up behind him, crossed the double yellow line, and passed us. I shudder to think what would have happened had there been kids in that crosswalk by Benjamin Franklin Middle School.

Even if my son had been a pokey new driver, which is well within acceptability, there is no excuse, but in fact he had been doing the speed limit. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for Mister SUV.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-drivers-are-becoming-more-dangerous-1.1117448#sthash.yiXrxMay.dpuf

Posted on

E-ZPass : Driver charged with $6,000 in tolls on 495 Express Lanes

ezpass

E-ZPass : Driver charged with $6,000 in tolls on 495 Express Lanes
Thursday – 3/13/2014, 6:45am  ET
By Ari Ashe

MCLEAN, Va. — A Fairfax County, Va. man who commutes on the 495 Express Lanes each day was sent a court summons and told he’d have to pay $6,000 in tolls, penalties and fees, WTOP Ticketbuster has learned.

Todd Metheny commutes from Springfield to McLean. He says the trip often took more than an hour on the Capital Beltway, but now takes less than 20 minutes on the 495 Express Lanes. But in January 2013, a problem with his E-ZPass account caused an overdraft in his account.

“I got a letter in the mail saying, ‘We weren’t able to charge you for the toll, shame on you. Take care of it immediately. Future violations will result in administrative penalties.’ But by the time I got it, the future already happened,” says Metheny.

He says he called Transurban in late January, in February and in April of 2013. Each time, he sent documents from his E-ZPass account to Transurban, the private company that operates the 495 Express Lanes in a public-private partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia.

But in mid-April, Metheny received a collections letter from Transurban. He called Transurban again on April 24.

“When I got the collections letter, I realized that about $11 now turned into nearly $800 in fines. I came unglued. Pick a word and I probably used it,” says Metheny.

Transurban agreed to research his case and call him back. But the agency never did. Metheny continued to use the 495 Express Lanes in 2013 and early 2014 without a problem. He says he didn’t hear anything from Transurban and assumed the agency just took the money out of his E-ZPass account.

https://www.wtop.com/1319/3580187/Driver-charged-with-6000-in-tolls