SENATE, No. 2231

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED NOVEMBER 17, 1997

By Senators SACCO and O’CONNOR

An Act concerning motor vehicle safety equipment and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.

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

    1. a. Every delivery van or truck registered in this State with a cube-style, walk-in cargo box up to 18-feet long that is used in the commercial delivery of goods and services shall be equipped with a rear crossview mirror located at the top left rear corner of the cargo box. The mirror shall be convex and located to reflect to the vehicle operator an unobstructed, overall view of the lower six feet of the entire rear width of the van or truck body.

    b. The director may adopt regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

    2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month after enactment, but the director may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

    To reduce the number of fatalities and injuries attributable to "backing accidents," this bill requires convex-shaped, rear crossview mirrors on every commercial delivery van or truck registered in this State if that vehicle is equipped with a cube-style, walk-in cargo box up to 18-feet long. The mirror is to be installed at the top left rear corner of the cargo box so that the operator of the van or truck has an unobstructed view of the lower six feet of the entire rear width of the van or truck body. The cost of a rear crossview mirror is approximately $50.

    According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 168 persons were killed and 12,000 injured nationwide in backing accidents in 1994. The United States Department of Transportation estimates that up to 130 of those killed each year in these accidents are children. Federal Express has reportedly experienced a 36 percent reduction in backing accidents since installing rear crossview mirrors on its delivery vans.

Requires rear cross-view mirrors on certain commercial delivery vehicles.