To ensure the safety of the entire Ramapo community, Ramapo’s Public Safety has created a new plan to highlight the importance of safe driving practices on-campus with a new Traffic Safety Campaign. This campaign started on Nov. 12 and will provide additional patrols to high-traffic areas along with strict enforcement of traffic and parking regulations in all areas across campus.
Public Safety issues the idea that the entire Ramapo community needs to drive carefully around, following the speed limits and adhering to stop signs while remaining mindful of pedestrians and other drivers while driving. They produced the campaign to make sure driving safety was enforced and to refocus the community’s effort on safely driving around campus. The campaign was brought about now with feedback coming from students, faculty and staff groups that prompted the safety measures to be implemented and centering more on traffic safety.
The Traffic Safety Campaign was developed in the responses the Public Safety office received from students and staff throughout the semester and they decided to bring about it now to make improvements in the campus walking and traffic environment. This campaign is one of the many that the Public Safety Office has brought forward to increase safety on campus and make the students and faculty on campus feel a sense of safety.
Ramapo’s program focuses on the enforcement of RCNJ Motor Vehicle policies at specific areas around campus to increase the safety of pedestrians in crosswalks and other drivers around campus.
Certain ideas of traffic safety like speed, traffic signs, officers, walkways and intersections are all brought about and outlined according to the set rules that will be expected to be implemented by the drivers all around the campus.
Following the various traffic signs around campus helps pedestrians walk safely when drivers stop at crosswalks and intersections. In addition, it helps community members drive safer as other motorists on the road will be able to see other drivers in the different areas around campus. All drivers around campus are expected to follow the new campaign and to apply the New Jersey traffic laws even though they are on the campus grounds.
This program is a fairly new program that will last until the end of the fall semester of this year and is being talked about continuing throughout the rest of the school year. This campaign follows the new traffic signs that were placed in the Village parking lot as well as the other safety signs around the campus. Both of these ideas were set about to be implemented to promote safer driving practices.
All drivers around campus are required to follow the New Jersey State vehicle and traffic laws and the RCNJ Motor Vehicle policy. If a student fails to adhere to the new policies that are being set, the driver will be subjected to a Violation of RCNJ Motor Vehicle Policy citation. This citation is similar to the RCNJ parking citation the Public Safety has already implemented and follows similar rules.
To keep in mind traffic citations may be issued by both Mahwah Township Police and Ramapo College of New Jersey Public Safety. There is no exception, since the citations issued by the Mahwah Police Department are for violations of NJ State Title 39, and citations issued by the RCNJ Department of Public Safety are for violations of RCNJ’s Motor Vehicle Rules and Regulations. A violator will be responsible for both violations.
Since the campaign has been initiated, Public Safety Director Jason Balsan said in an email with The Ramapo News that, “Public Safety Officers on patrol have already observed a noticeable increase in compliance with posted traffic signs, and an overall reduction in infractions on campus.” He said, “This should result in a safer pedestrian and driving experience on campus.”
For more information about the new traffic safety campaign and the guidelines for driving around campus visit their website at https://www.ramapo.edu/ehs/pedestrian-safety/ and https://www.ramapo.edu/publicsafety/parking-regulations/
rbleich@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Rebecca Bleich
