| West Trenton, N.J. – As the New Year’s Eve celebration approaches, the New Jersey State Police are thinking about the 540 lives lost so far on New Jersey roadways in 2013. That is a tragic number of deaths, but is still a decrease from 2012, when 587 fatalities occurred during the same period. That equates to an eight percent decrease.
During last week’s Christmas Holiday period, preliminary statistics show that two people died as a result of two fatal crashes. In 2012 during the Christmas Holiday period was far worse. There were 11 deaths in 11 crashes and six of those fatalities were pedestrians. Nine of those accidents involved drugs and/or alcohol.
The weather is expected to be frigid this New Year’s Eve, and if you plan on driving, please take the necessary steps to keep warm in case you break down. This means have something warmer than open toe shoes in the car, keep a blanket in the back seat, and store a good flashlight in the glove box.
If you decide to consume alcohol, have your designated driver identified well in advance. It would be even better to plan on sleeping where your partying. Additional troopers will be on patrol this evening through Thursday morning watching for specific violations such as driving while intoxicated, aggressive driving, and the use of handheld phones/computers.
During the 2012 New Year’s Eve Holiday period there were four deaths in four crashes and two of those fatalities were pedestrians. Two fatal crashes involved alcohol or drugs. The 2013 New Year’s Eve Holiday period begins on Tuesday, December 31 at 6:00 p.m. and ends on Thursday, January 2 at 6:00 a.m.
#### |
