Every single Road Warrior column is a car wreck

An NJ Transit double-decker train at the Secaucus Junction on Friday. The extra seats are welcome, but the rail cars come with a dangerous interior design flaw: low luggage racks on the upper level that can crack a commuter's head.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

I pity North Jersey commuters who don't drive to work, either because they don't want to be stuck in massive traffic jams or can't afford a car, insurance and the exorbitant tolls.

They won't find any help from the media, especially The Record, whose transportation reporters are obsessed with the minutiae of driving in the Garden State or simply are too lazy to ride public transit and report on its many problems.

Another car wreck

On Friday, Staff Writer John Cichowski -- desperate for a column idea -- seized on a report from the New Jersey Public Interest Group "to confirm what most Americans probably either know or suspect" (Friday's Local front).

But the "nearly 7 percent" reduction in the number of drivers from 2005 to 2011 doesn't apply to New Jersey, and is probably outdated.

So, why is Cichowski -- aka "The Addled Commuter" -- wasting a Road Warrior column on it?

In fact, rush-hour traffic jams at the Hudson River crossings, and on the turnpike and parkway, seem as massive as ever. 

And the number of speeders and other maniacal drivers are even more numerous, likely due to an historically low level of enforcement.

Those are the real stories ignored by Cichowski and The Record's lazy local assignment editors.

Instant amnesia

In his Wednesday column, Cichowski couldn't remember what he had reported only three days before -- in his first column about a driver who was ticketed for flashing his lights to warn others of police radar.

According to a concerned reader:

"He [Cichowski] was unable to comprehend or remember his own reporting from Aug. 25, where he stated that the president of state Police Traffic Safety Officers Association came to the driver's defense, or that multiple readers' online comments on his Aug. 25 article came to the driver's defense."

Go to the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers to read the entire e-mail to Editor Marty Gottlieb and the other mucky mucks in management and the newsroom, including the addled reporter himself:

Road Warrior embarrasses The Record again 

Obama and Syria

I just saw the news President Obama will ask Congress for approval of his plan to bomb Syria for killing 1,429 in a gas attack (A-1 today).

That means readers will have to endure days or possibly weeks more of jaw-boning in the media -- a colossal waste of space.

With Syria coverage adding to all of the shore-Sandy stories (A-1 today and Friday), the politics, the adulation for Governor Christie and who knows what else, North Jersey readers are feeling neglected.

Another weird poll

Can anyone believe a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll reporting that 29 percent of Democrats prefer Christie -- the GOP bully -- over state Sen. Barbara Buono, a Democrat (Friday's A-3)?

The only Democrats who are going to vote for the worst New Jersey governor ever are multimillionaires who have been spared an income-tax surcharge -- thanks to Christie's repeated vetoes -- and business owners who are reaping millions in state tax breaks, but not creating jobs.

Always room for dessert

In Friday's Better Living tabloid (BL-18), Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung wastes readers' time with another forgettable restaurant -- Central Kitchen in Englewood Cliffs.

But Ung sampled two desserts anyway, explaining why her column photo hasn't been updated since she joined The Record nearly 6 years ago.

Her mouth and chin no longer fits in the thumbnail format.