Road Warrior errors continue unchecked

A gas line on Cedar Lane in Teaneck after Hurricane Sandy.

Editor's note: A concerned reader has sent another e-mail to Road Warrior John Cichowski, showing that the desk-bound reporter's continued reliance on readers for column ideas rarely results in accurate advice.

The Road Warrior seems to be oblivious to the facts and screening of readers' ideas in his Nov. 16 column.

This is the 14th time I have notified the Road Warrior about his mistaken reporting since his 9/12 article without any corrective action being taken to prevent these problems.

In a follow-up to his misleading, incomplete, and false reporting that I raised about his Nov. 9 column about red-light cameras in Pohatcong, the Road Warrior makes additional blunders about the very same issues I previously corrected, as noted.

1.  Misleading false statements -  "Warren County quickly restored power to the light in Pohatcong at Route 22 and New Brunswick Avenue and to its cameras for catching red-light runners. But these cameras were then disconnected by order of the state Department of Transportation."

"Why the change?"

"The cameras are located across the border in Greenwich, whose Township Council refused to accept just a 30 percent cut of the fines generated by the cameras."

CORRECT FACTS -  As I previously explained to the Road Warrior, all the cameras at this intersection are NOT located across the border in Greenwich.  The cameras captured red light infractions in both Pohatcong and Greenwich townships.

DOT decision to remove the cameras is based on the failure of Pohatcong to reach an agreement with Greenwich prior to the DOT Nov. 1, 2012, deadline about joint jurisdiction over these cameras, which started to be enforced by Pohatcong at this intersection in Sept. of 2011. 

This failure was exacerbated by repeated delays by Pohatcong officials to discuss any offer with Greenwich, who had raised these jurisdiction issues in January of this year.  Greenwich Township Council did NOT have time to refuse Pohatcong's offer to share 70% of fines for those infractions that occurred in Greenwich jurisdiction since it was made one day before the DOT deadline of Nov. 1, 2012,  to resolve this matter.

As I previously explained to the Road Warrior, the red light cameras at this intersection generated ~$680,000 in tickets for Pohatcong, and ~28% or ~$190,000 of those tickets issued by Pohatcong were for infractions that were under Greenwich jurisdiction.  None of this money was ever shared with Greenwich.

To add insult to injury for his failure twice to properly report these matters, which happened before his Nov. 9 column, Road Warrior failed to report on further updates, as noted below.

NJ state officials cited other reasons for the cameras removal to be the imminent signal improvement project at this Route 122 intersection that would include double-red post-mounted signal indications, a revised signal design, an active “Signal Ahead” beacon, and pavement markings.

“These revisions will have a tremendous effect on the RLR [red light running camera] data collected at this site, and for that reason RLR must be deactivated,” NJDOT supervising engineer Dave Martin stated in an email to Pohatcong and Greenwich townships.

Road Warrior then goes from misleading false statements to bad or unsubstantiated ideas, which he simply passes along from readers without the obligatory safety and fact checking that reliable reporters are prone to do, including with relevant experts, and report about.

As the Road Warrior stated, "From generators to gas lines and traffic lights, consider these ideas for taming the next Sandy:"

1.  Very bad Idea - "Use gasoline powered cars as generators"

If The Record has any integrity and is truly considerate for the financial and safe well-being of readers and their cars, there should be a follow-up article after consultation with experts, which recommends AGAINST the regular use of gasoline powered cars as generators.

Unless someone exhausts all other power alternatives (The Record should identify some) during or prior to an emergency, incl. relocating to somewhere with power if practical, no one should plan to use their gasoline powered cars as generators for their homes since:

1)  Idling gas cars burn considerably, much more gas than a stand-alone generator. If there is a gas shortage, you will run out of gas, which would also be needed for transportation, much, much quicker.

2)  Idling gas cars generate more odorless carbon monoxide emissions, which can more easily kill those in the user's or surrounding homes, than an emergency generator.

3)  Unattended idling gas cars, even locked, are much more likely to be stolen.

4)  Idling gas powered cars for long periods of time is not recommended by car manufacturers since it can cause engine problems over time and can cause  warranty problems since the cars are not intended to run for long times for that purpose.

5)  Significant power consumption from a car's battery for long periods of time while the car is idling, will reduce the car's battery life.

6)  Idling gas cars do not have sufficient power for heaters in a home or large appliances (800-1000 watts or higher); and have limitations on simultaneous power for a significant number of lights and electronic devices.

7)  Idling gas cars violate NJ law against idling of cars for long periods due to more pollution since their catalytic converters do not reach high enough temperatures to properly treat exhaust emissions.

8)  Idling gas cars can ignite leaves or other debris, which might collect underneath it during a storm.

9)  Local officials have more pressing things to worry about than all of the widespread problems that would be caused by this very bad idea.

Also remember that the home will be without electricity while you are without any car(s) that are being used for transportation.

At least with hybrid gas powered cars, they idle on gasoline only a small part of the time to re-power the car's 12V battery and consume much less fuel than a standard gasoline or diesel powered car, but still more than a gasoline powered generator.

For anyone who might need as a last resort to use their car as a generator during an emergency, it is important that they should consult with an electrician or other electrical expert resource to ensure safeguards are in place to make the right, safe connections and hardware protections for the car, home, electrical users, and people.

2.  Unsubstantiated idea - "visit gasbuddy.com to find stations with the shortest lines."

This idea should have been qualified by the Road Warrior with the facts that gasbuddy.com just instituted this service for the very first time several days after Sandy and it did not provided status information about availability of gas and/or gas lines for more than 95% of the gas stations it normally was tracking in northern NJ.  Perhaps, as word spreads thru social media and its website, gasbuddy.com will provide this type of information for more stations during the next Sandy type storm. 

3.  Good idea with no good answers by the Road Warrior -  A driver "noted that some towns, including Englewood, have installed spare STOP signs at some intersections, but keep them folded and locked until signals aren't working. Why not use those?"

Why didn't the Road Warrior or driver answer his own question and simply ask Hackensack or other town officials why they did not use those folding stop signs and report back for the benefit of the Road Warrior readers?

Why didn't the Road Warrior indicate that NJ statutes require drivers to stop at an intersection without power to its traffic lights as if it were a 4-way stop intersection when traffic is not being regulated by traffic officers?

Why didn't the Road Warrior ask local police if they gave out tickets to any drivers during Sandy, or perhaps during a previous more localized power outage, who did not stop at an intersection without power to its lights that was not regulated by traffic officers?  If they did not, why not? The reason could be as simple as power outages were just too widespread during Sandy and they were attending to more critical needs.

Here's hoping for change and better fact-checking, corrections, reviewing (Googling?), and screening of readers' ideas in the Road Warrior columns by The Record's editors, columnists, & reporters, for more reliable, accurate, and common sense info prior to publication.