New Jersey Local Technical Assistance Program
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NJ LTAP ENews October 2009

Volume 11, Number 10

In This Issue

This Month, From the Director

NJ LTAP Welcomes Certified Municipal Engineer Program

The New Jersey Society of Municipal Engineers (NJSME) has brought its Certified Municipal Engineer program to the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation at Rutgers University. Working with the NJ Local Technical Assistance Program, the Society kicked off the 10 seminar series on Septemer 16th and will continue with sessions each month throughout the academic year. The program is headed by the NJSME Municipal Engineering Institute Chairman, John A. Wiggins, P.E.

Instructors are drawn from professionals recognized as subject matter experts in their field- course content is based on current engineering practices. Subject matter includes both technical and administrative areas of practice, such as municipal budgeting, stormwater management, municipal land use, public contracts, roadway design, and recreational design. The Certified Municipal Engineer program is broad in scope, timely in nature, and intended to address the various roles and responsibilities that a municipal engineer may face in either a full-time or consulting capacity. The Certified Municipal Engineer certificate is awarded only to licensed professional engineers upon their successful completion of the program. Those who are without professional licensure may complete the program but will not be awarded a certificate until licensure.

Although enrollment is closed for the current program, further information may be obtained by contacting John A. Wiggins, P.E. at (973) 596-8193 or email wiggins@njit.edu.

Source: Claudia Knezek, Ph.D.

Plan4Safety Crash Analysis Tool for New Jersey Agencies

Plan4Safety is a decision support tool created for the New Jersey Department of Transportation through the Transportation Safety Resource Center at Rutgers' Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation. It is a multi-layered decision support program for transportation engineers, planners, enforcement, and decision makers in New Jersey's transportation and safety agencies to analyze crash data in geospatial and tabular forms.

Plan4Safety Rev Brochure coverMore than identifying crash hot spots which merit further investigation, Plan4Safety integrates statewide crash data, roadway characteristic data, calculates statistical analyses, incorporates network screening layers and models, and includes visual analytical tools (GIS). The program was developed to assist safety professionals resolve critical safety issues and assess the most sound and cost-effective ways to approach safety management and enforcement.

The New Jersey State Police has announced it will use the Plan4Safety crash data analysis program as the main resource to obtain and analyze crash data within its Field Operations Section. NJSP will use Plan4Safety to more effectively pinpoint high-crash areas and analyze contributing circumstances to determine safety solutions.

Using Plan4Safety tools such as cluster finder and cross tab analysis, state police safety planners will examine contributing factors relating to truck traffic incidents in highway work zones and compare multi-faceted crash data in different areas on state roadways.

Those seeking a User Account for Plan4Safety should complete the user request form at www.cait.rutgers.edu/tsrc. Crash data analysis requests may also be made through a downloadable request form on the website.

Source: CAIT Tech Transfer Group

NHTSA Releases Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Half of 2009

A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first six months of 2009 has been announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. An estimated 16,626 fatalities have occurred in motor vehicle crashes so far this year, a number down 7 percent from the first half of 2008. The second quarter of 2009 represents the 13th consecutive quarter of declines as compared to the same quarter from the previous year. Traffic fatalities have been steadily declining since reaching a near-term peak in 2005.

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) were down by 6.1 billion miles for the first half of 2009, however April and June 2009 had higher VMT than the same months in 2008.  NHTSA's estimates were derived from data analysis from several sources including the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). VMT data was provided by the Federal Highway Administration. The fatality rate for the first half of 2009 declined to 1.15 fatalities per 100 million VMT, down from 1.23 fatalities per 100 million VMT in the first half of 2008. Fatality rates are calculated with consideration of variables, such as VMT.

2008 represented the lowest level of overall traffic fatalities reported since 1961.

The Traffic Safety Fact sheet, DOT HS 811 207, may be found online at www.nhtsa.gov.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

OSHA Requires Construction Workers Wear High-Visibility Warning Garments

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a new letter of interpretation requiring that construction workers wear high-visibility warning garments. The required safety gear is mandatory regardless of whether the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requires them.

Previous OSHA guidance had stated that high-visibility garments were required only where indicated by the MUTCD; the new letter of interpretation states all highway and road construction workers must wear them. OSHA considers road and construction traffic to be a well-recognized hazard to highway and road construction workers.

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

NJ LTAP Celebrates 2009 Instructor of the Year

On October 2, 2009 the NJ Local Technical Assistance Program hosted an Appreciation Luncheon for the instructional staff and Stakeholder Committee. Over fifty people who regularly make themselves available to serve as instructors and advisors to the program were present at the event, which included an awards presentation and LTAP trivia contest.

Each year, one member of the instructional staff is selected to receive a special honor. Howard Dill, CPWM was chosen as the 2009 Instructor of the Year. The NJ LTAP Program Manager, Janet Leli, presented Howard with a plaque citing his continuous dedication to the program for over a decade, as both an instructor and for playing a key role in developing the Road Scholar Program. Howard has served as an instructor in the public works field teaching workshops on everything from Winter Maintenance to Managing Public Equipment. He is a retired Director of Public Works from Somers Point, NJ.

Source: CAIT Tech Transfer Group

Upcoming Workshops from the New Jersey Local Technical Assistance Program

Please be sure to check the New Jersey Local Technical Assistance Program's upcoming workshops. We have a variety of programs scheduled for the fall and winter seasons, including Work Zone Safety Awareness and Traffic Control Coordinator and Refresher programs. In addition, the schedule for the 2010 Municipal Engineering Construction Inspection Program is now available.

All of our upcoming programs are listed online at cait.rutgers.edu/training.