EMT CALLS FOR NEW JERSEY MOVE OVER LAW

A major accident near the afternoon rush hour on May 9, 2006 closed both directions of a section of New Jersey's Garden State Parkway for more than an hour.  Traffic back-up was severe, prompting one official to term the situation the "'perfect storm' of traffic tie-ups."  Editors of the North Jersey Herald News/The Record called on state police and highway officials to coordinate response to such incidents to best mitigate major traffic problems.  However, they reported, one state police spokesman apparently said that "Accidents are so different, there's no way to plan for every contingency."

Shortly after, an EMT wrote the paper with his own editorial, noting that while "No emergency responder wants to close a highway, . . .the reality is that emergency operations on a highway are extremely dangerous, life-or-death operations for those responding."  The EMT noted the grave risks that emergency responders on highways face from, among others, those under the influence, those otherwise impaired, and those talking on cell phones.  The EMT noted that the USFA is working on coordinated roadway operations programs for all emergency responders, but the EMT also encouraged his state legislature to pass both a move over law, and to amend the cell phone use restrictions to bar the use of cell phones when approaching emergency vehicles engaged in highway operations.