New Jersey officials have developed a series of proposals to address highway safety in the wake of several fatal accidents, The New York Times reported today. And although earlier indications were that the proposals would focus primarily on trucks, the final plan is much broader.

Government and industry officials originally met Thursday, Nov. 21, in New Jersey to look at highway truck safety after three crashes involving cars and tractor-trailers that week resulted in three deaths, officials with NJDOT said.

According to official reports, one person died in a crash on I-78 in Lebanon Wednesday, Nov. 20; no one was hurt in the second wreck that day, on I-80, which held up traffic for hours; and, in the third wreck, two people died on I-287 in Franklin Township. All three accidents involved tractor-trailers. However, The Times reported, state officials concluded driver inattention was the main cause of all three accidents.

The proposals, according to Transportation Commissioner appointee Jack Lettiere and a statement from current Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox, include:

• Increased enforcement of traffic laws by the state police.
• The use of 100 remote video cameras - which previously monitored only traffic conditions - to spot traffic violations.
• Driver education programs and public service announcements to encourage better road sharing and more attentive driving.
• Construction of crossover barriers at several locations around the state, starting with I-78 in Whitehouse Station and I-80 near Roxbury.
• Traffic alerts on the NJDOT Web site.
• The use of mobile truck safety inspection stations.
• And more use of message boards on highways to flash safety messages and information on traffic conditions.

Gail Toth, the president of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association and a member of the task force, told The Times she was pleased the measures did not focus solely on trucks. Early announcements of the first meeting of the group indicated it would focus on "highway truck safety." But state officials stressed they were not looking to blame anyone, and a spokesman for the New Jersey State Police said that typically, trucks are not the problem.

"From what my traffic people tell me, the majority of these accidents are not caused by the trucks," Sgt. Kevin Rehmann said.

The proposals were spurred by a series of accidents that occurred Wednesday, Nov. 20, in the state, which ended in three deaths.

According to Rehmann, the first accident occurred at 8:46 a.m. near mile marker 20 on I-78 in Lebanon Borough, part of Hunterton County. A tire blew out on a tractor-trailer headed east. The truck crossed the centerline, struck a 2000 Grand Prix and then collided head-on a westbound tractor-trailer driven by Michael Snyder of Windgap, PA. Snyder, whose truck went over the guardrail and into the woods, was killed.

The second accident took place on I-80 in Fairfield township about an hour later, when a Ford Econoline moved into the path of a semi driven by James Rollinger of Post Falls, ID. Rollinger swerved to avoid a collision, Rehmann said, and his Freightliner flipped, spilling his load, mainly medical supplies, onto the road. No one was injured, but state police closed the left lane until 12:30 a.m. the following day so the supplies could be cleared off the highway.

The worst of the three incidents didn't take place till 2:30 that afternoon, when a 1999 Isuzu SUV either slowed or stopped in the southbound lanes of I-287.

"One of the reasons we're investigating is there may have been an animal in the roadway," Rehmann said. Local press reports said the driver stopped to avoid hitting a ground hog.

Shortly, the slowdown set off a chain reaction, with the Isuzu hit by a Ford pickup, the pickup hit by an Oldsmobile, which in turn was hit by a Mercedes SUV. One tractor-trailer avoided the pileup by moving onto the shoulder, but a second, driven by Larry Clemons, was not able to stop or avoid the cars. His vehicle collided with the Mercedes SUV. Both of the people in that vehicle were killed.