ASSEMBLY, No. 2760

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 27, 1997

By Assemblymen WISNIEWSKI and DeCROCE

An Act concerning the Department of Transportation and supplementing P.L.1966, c.301 (C.27:1A-1 et seq.).

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. As used in this act:

    a. "Board" means the Accident Review Board established in section 2 of this act.

    b. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Transportation.

    c. "Department" means the Department of Transportation.

    d. "Motor vehicle or equipment of the department" means any device, owned or leased by the Department of Transportation, but shall not include a motor vehicle leased or otherwise acquired from the State motor pool operated by the Department of the Treasury.

    2. There is hereby created, within the department, an Accident Review Board for the purpose of determining the department's responsibilities regarding accidents by department employees while operating motor vehicles or equipment of the department. The board shall be comprised of one employee from each division of the department, appointed by the commissioner. The commissioner shall appoint a chairman from among the members of the board. The board shall organize and conduct its first meeting within 45 days of the effective date of this act. No meeting shall be conducted without a majority of the full membership of the board. All decisions of the board must have the approval of a majority of its members.

    3. The board shall be responsible for:

    a. reviewing and evaluating reports of each accident involving an employee of the department while operating a motor vehicle or equipment of the department;

    b. determining, based on its review, if the accident was preventable or not preventable, and preparing a detailed summary of the factors supporting that determination;

    c. requesting, if required, further investigation of an accident by inviting parties involved in the accident to participate in a meeting of the board;

    d notifying, in writing, the employee and the employee's immediate supervisor of the board's decision, including a summary of the factors supporting that decision, and recommending disciplinary action, if appropriate; and

    e. maintaining files on all accidents, the board's findings, and decisions related to each accident and whether the employee was disciplined as a result of the accident.

    4. If the board determines that the accident was preventable, the employee may appeal the decision within five days of receipt of the notification by requesting the chairman of the board for an individual revaluation by the board. The board shall notify, in writing, the employee and the employee's immediate supervisor of the board's decision on its revaluation of the cause of the accident, including a summary of the factors supporting that decision, and recommending disciplinary action, if appropriate.

    5. The board shall have the authority to require employees to report accidents to the appropriate authority within a reasonable period of time.

    6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill establishes an "Accident Review Board" (board) within the New Jersey Department of Transportation (department) for the purpose of determining the department's responsibilities regarding accidents by department employees while operating motor vehicles or equipment of the department, but not accidents involving motor vehicles owned by or leased from the State motor pool. The board is to be comprised of one employee from each division of the department appointed by the commissioner.

    The board would be responsible for: 1) reviewing and evaluating reports of each accident involving an employee of the department while operating a motor vehicle or equipment of the department; 2) determining, based on its review, if the accident was preventable or not preventable, and preparing a detailed summary of the factors supporting that determination; 3) requesting, if required, further investigations of an accident by inviting parties involved to participate in a meeting; 4) notifying, in writing, the employee and the employee's immediate supervisor of the board's decision, including a summary of the factors supporting that determination, and recommending disciplinary action, if appropriate; and 5) maintaining files on all accidents, the board's findings, and decisions related to each accident and whether the employee was disciplined as a result of the accident.

    If the board determines that an accident was preventable, the affected employee would have five days after receipt of the notification to appeal the board's ruling. The board would have the authority to require employees to report accidents to the appropriate authority within a reasonable period of time.

    This bill fulfills a recommendation of the Office of the State Auditor in its audit report (issued on January 15, 1997) of selected programs of the department from July 1, 1994 to March 31, 1996. The report recommended that the department establish alternate procedures providing for the review and investigation of department employee traffic accidents. The Office of the State Auditor made this recommendation after finding, among other things, that the department abolished its "Accident Review Board" in November 1991 and that accidents were not formally reviewed to ascertain whether the accidents were preventable and if the employee responsible should be subject to disciplinary action.

Establishes an "Accident Review Board" within DOT.