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Minutes of the General Membership Meeting
May 15, 2001
Canale Training Center
Teresa Thomas opened the meeting at 10:10 a.m.
Rick Mulvihill, Director of the Atlantic County Department of Public Safety lead the flag salute
Minutes
Teresa explained that the Executive Board had decided to meet separately from the General Membership meetings and had met on Tuesday, April 3rd. Minutes were in the packet, along with minutes of the February 20th Executive Board and General Membership meetings.
Reorganization
Approval of By-Laws - Teresa explained that the Executive Board had reviewed the By-Laws at its February meeting and made some changes but that the General Membership never voted on them. Revised By-Laws were included in packet with changes in italic. They included language in Article VI, Sections 1 & 5. Section I includes language allowing the Executive Board to make recommendations to the General Membership if there are vacant seats, while Section 5 clarifies who resigning board members must notify. All present were in favor.
Approval of new Executive Board Members - Teresa announced that the Executive Board was recommending Sgt Richard Washart and Liberty Harshaw to fill the Cape May County vacant seats.
Sgt Washart is the Supervisor of the Traffic Safety Unit for Ocean City Police Department and Ms Harshaw is a Driver Education Instructor for Wildwood High School.
All present were in favor.
Ongoing Business
Update on Child Passenger Safety Seat Inspection Campaign Pilot Program
Teresa M. Thomas, SJTSA Program Coordinator
The Alliance hosted another Certification Course April 16th at the 911 Center in Rosenhayn. Below are our new certified technicians. The associated event started off slow but we had some very unusual installations. For example there was a custom van and old chevy that proved you cant teach everything.
Russell Bongiovanni, Hamilton Twp PD, Ptl M. Hughes, Egg Harbor Twp PD, Ptl William Bowen and Ptl Paul Ferry, Margate City PD, Michael Cohen, CMC Prosecutors Office, Sgt Tim Moore and Ptl Burgess Hamer, Middle Twp PD, Tpr .J. Grusemeyer, NJSP-Buena, Tpr D. Timko, NJSP-Bridgeton, Tpr J. Chain and Tpr Rich Gabor, NJSP-Woodbine, Tpr Michael Valiante, NJSP-Port Norris, Mary Smith and Lillian Ernst, Millville Rescue, Officer Jahaira Roman and Officer Noberto Torres, Bridgeton PD, Renee Garrison, Salem County Hospital, Sheriffs Officer Robert Hans, Salem Sheriffs Office, Sheriffs Officers Ernie Escabar, and Evelyn Navarro, Cumberland County Sheriffs Office, and Edison Taylor, SJ Hospital System-Bridgeton.
The Alliance also hosted an Inspection Event at Elmer Hospital Day, Saturday, May 12th. Technicians inspected 17 seats and only one was installed correctly.
2001 Aggressive Driver Countermeasure Campaign
Sgt MacKaFee, NJSP, talked about the.
Read the list of participants with 16 Alliance members participating.
First he pointed out that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has various program packages available with boiler plate press releases, fact sheets, boiler plate articles for editorials, and CD's for Public Service Announcements. He highly recommends the Professional Aggressive Driver Campaign package. If you are not currently using it you should look into it, it will make your traffic officers jobs a lot easier.
He went on to talk about his conversation with Col Peter O'Hagan, Director of Highway Safety at the State. After four years the Col is still excited and supportive about the program and happy with the Alliances participation. They talked about expanding the program to include the Traffic Bureau Chief, Commercial Carrier Unit, Bus Units, and Weigh Details for specialized enforcement. This has come about because the program was not looking at buses and the newspapers came out with their own radar units and identified a problem with bus drivers.
Next he talked about the plea bargaining issue and will be reaching out to the Alliance for support. We need to take a look at how to identify persistent offenders and what we should do to curtail it. Currently, Trial Attorneys are not supposed to plea bargain anything down to anything that is not a related matter. After the 3rd conviction the judge may or may not assess motor vehicle points.
New Video
Teresa M. Thomas, SJTSA Program Coordinator
Teresa showed a small section of the Millennium Edition of the MUTCD Video Conference. The Alliance has two copies for use by anyone interested.
Presentations
Detective Herbert James, Atlantic City Police Department
DRY2K Program - 30 minutes
DRY2K is an exciting new multimedia project that targets junior and senior high school students. It was developed by the Fontana California Police Department and with permission was edited by the Atlantic City Police Department for use in New Jersey. However, there are some sections that cannot be removed and have to be a part of the presentation. The Alliance members were showed the 30 minute version, but there is a 45 minute version that includes a criminal section.
DRY2K explains the perils of drinking and driving to high school students. It is a three part program that covers education of New Jersey laws concerning drinking, drinking and driving and the sale or purchase of alcohol to minors. It also demonstrates the levels of impairment caused by alcohol usage by the use of "Fatal Vision Goggles" and graphically shows the consequences of drunk driving.
MADD and SADD support this program. MADD is providing histories and background of accidents in our region to be used in the program.
Ms. Mary Padden, RNC, Memorial Hospital of Salem
Tri-State Passenger Seat Inspection Campaign Committee, Fishkill New York, March 13-14-15
Mary said the event was very well attended and supported by New Jersey. 450 attendees from New Jersey.
She went over some of the different seminars she attended and had copies available.
Dial-A-Belt - An Automotive Safety Belt Training Station. www.sciproducts.com
This is an actual car seat with every kind of car seat belt system. It is used for educational demonstrations.
Tethers - A tether is a strap, used in addition to a safety belt, to anchor a child restraint firmly in place. One end of the strap is attached to the top of the restraint. The other end is anchored to the vehicles metal structure. The use of the tether improves the performances of a child restraint by securing the top of the seat and further restricting forward and side-to-side movement.
Innovative Programs
Babies-R-Us - BRU wants to partner with child safety seat technicians to offer them the opportunity to target their guests. They do this by offering, Baby Fest Weekends, Expectant Parents Seminars, Hosting or sponsoring CPS Check Up Events, and distributing brochures etc in the stores.
All BRU are looking for someone to host and event with them September 26th thru 30th. Is the Alliance interested?
Safetybeltsafe USA - Child Passenger Safety Technical Material
Tools available: CPS Reference Manual, Color Pictorial Guide, 2000 Supplement Child Restraint Manufacturers Instructions, Technical Encyclopedia Of CPS, List of Recalls and Replacement Parts for Child Restraints, Automatic Update Service.
IM SAFE! - Incentive & Education Program for Booster-Age Children -
A family who fully participates in the program recieves a booster seat, storybook and activity book, fact sheet and poster, video and demonstration, safe ride news. Www.imsafe.com
SAFE KIDS Coalition - Each state has its own coalition, and individual counties can have their own chapter. They have a van with tents, signage, and all the supplies. And if you do an event at a dealership, you get $500.00 to buy car seats.
Mary and Teresa will look into making the Alliance a chapter so we can have our own van in South Jersey and not have to travel to Monmouth.
Question by Sharane Orendas. Is it true that hospitals are sending new mothers home without a car seat?
Mary said that there is no law against it but that they do educate the parents on the importance. Sometimes its a choice between a car seat and food.
Sharane volunteered to work with Mary on a diversity grant for Salem County.
Cape May County Pedestrian Safety Project Results
Timothy G. Chelius, SJTPO Executive Director
Tabled
New Business
Spring Activity - Kids on Wheels
Teresa reminded everyone that last years Spring Activity was bicycle safety.
This year she would like organizations to broaden the program to include scooters, roller blades and skateboards. The Needs Assessments identified these items as problems. To aide departments, the Alliance has ordered Helmet ID Systems, similar to the Emergency ID Stickers. She did however, ask everyone to make sure the kids filled in the form and attached it before being permitted to participate in any activities such as obstacle courses.
Grant Forms and Money Available through the Alliance
Teresa explained two programs she is currently working on with NJDHS personnel.
She and Ed OConnor are working on a CPS Grant for the Alliance. It will allow the Alliance to reimburse technicians for working Check Up Events and doing educational programs. It will also allow the Alliance to purchase seats and supplies.
The second programs is a Pedestrian Engineering Grant to provide a machine and materials for crosswalk striping. Teresa is focusing on Cape May County because the SJTPO is doing the CMC Pedestrian Study which will identify locations that may benefit from low cost pedestrian safety measure such as signs and crosswalks etc.
* When submitting the Item Request Form, please be detailed. A new sheet should be used for each program because multi items may be need but the audience is the same and will determine the quantity.
It they are not completed correctly they will be returned.
Legislation
Supported Assembly Bill No. 539 - Concerns us of child passenger restraint systems, booster seats and seat belts. Teresa did say she had invited Assemblyman LeFevre and Blee to address the Alliance on this issue but they had a scheduling conflict.
Supported Assembly Bill No. 3271 - supplemental appropriation of $1 million to DLSP for child car safety public education campaign.
Supported Assembly Bill No. 3273 - supplemental appropriation of $250,000 to DLSP for child safety seat grant program.
Supported Assembly Bill No. 3223 - established driving while fatigued as recklessness under vehicular homicide statute.
FYI - Upcoming Events
CPS Inspection Events
Saturday, May 19th, Cape May County Zoo
Sunday, June 3rd, Consumer Square, Hamilton Twp
CPS Seminar for nurses, Friday, June 1st, Salem Hospital
CPS Seminars for school bus drivers, Tuesday, July 24 and 26th.
The meeting was adjourned at 12 Noon.
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SJTSA
