The Street Smart NJ program is expanding to more Jersey Shore communities this year.
HARVEY CEDARS - In an effort to decrease New Jersey's high number of motor vehicle crashes involved pedestrians, a collaborative campaign is expanding to get its message out to more Jersey Shore communities.
Street Smart NJ - under the direction of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authorities - is an effort by public, private and non-profit organizations to change the dangerous behaviors of pedestrians and motorists through education and enforcement.
The program began in five pilot sites in 2013 and has expanded to more than 20 communities this year.
Long Beach Township was the first Jersey Shore community to participate in Street Smart NJ, but officials announced during a press conference in Harvey Cedars on Wednesday that this year, the program would include additional shore communities for the first time.
Police officers and volunteers in Asbury Park, Bay Head, Bradley Beach, Long Branch, Manasquan and Point Pleasant will be distributing cards detailing safety tips to pedestrians and motorists. The campaign will also be advertising at train stations, bus terminals and on buses along the Jersey Shore, as well as at Garden State Parkway toll plazas.
The campaign - which claims to have tracked a 53-percent drop in "non-compliant behavior" in the initial pilot communities - informs motorists to obey speed limits and stop for pedestrians at crosswalks and reminds pedestrians to use crosswalks and to wait for the walk signal at signalized intersections.
Mary Murphy, the executive director of the NJTPA, said the campaign is now also promoting the message of "heads up, phones down" to both motorists and pedestrians in an attempt to cut back on distracted driving and distracted walking associated with cell phone usage.
"We're seeing more and more of that. And down on LBI, you'll see it all the time now, with people going to the beach. They're at the crosswalk, right where we want them to be, but their head is down," she said. "You head needs to be up. You need to be checking traffic. You need to give it a break, give it a break for a minute and put your head up and be safer."
Between 2009 and 2012, there were 565 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles in New Jersey and another 17,000 were injured, Murphy said.
"This means one pedestrian was killed every two and a half days and (an average of) 11 pedestrians in our state were injured ever single day. That's too much and we need to stop it," she said, adding 166 pedestrians and 17 cyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2015. "This campaign is about changing behavior certainly, but it's really about saving lives."
Retired Long Beach Township police Capt. Paul Vereb spoke at the press conference about his brother, Vernon, who was struck by a car on Route 1 in Edison in 1987 and remained in a coma for seven years before he died at age 50.
"Speed does kill. There is a lot of stuff we can do to prevent these tragedies from happening," Vereb said. "What were talking about today is: pay attention, make sure, don't always just think that that car is going to stop, try to get eye contact with it, do the best that you can. Wear bright colors when you're out there, a reflective vest if you're out there at night. These are the things that we need to do."
Long Beach Township Police Officer Megan Keller said that during the 2014 Street Smart NJ initiative, the department's officers had more than 1,000 "interactions" with pedestrians and motorists, issued warnings in an effort to get them to comply with the laws and also issued summonses when warranted.
"Our message really is simple," Keller said. "We want you to pay attention, and that safety should be a routine part of getting around for both pedestrians and drivers."
Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.