NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today announced the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded more than $1 million in federal funds for programs to enhance traffic safety in New Jersey, particularly programs that protect children.

    “With more and more cars on New Jersey’s roads, we need to do all we can to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers,” Sen. Lautenberg said.  “These grants are an important step to make child and traffic safety a priority, and I will continue to fight for funding that makes our roads safer and more secure.”

    “These federal funds will help make our crowded roadways safer for drivers, passengers and pedestrians,” said Sen. Menendez.  “Our children face a greater risk if not properly secured, and these funds will help make sure parents are not only able to acquire appropriate safety restraints but can also properly install and use them.  With initiatives such as these, we can help drivers protect themselves and their families and increase awareness of the dangers on our roads.”

    The $1,065,464 in federal funds will be used to implement two traffic safety initiatives:

        •    $587,556 will be used to improve the accuracy, accessibility and uniformity of state traffic safety information systems; and

        •    $477,908 to support child passenger safety initiatives, which include the purchase and distribution of child restraints to low-income families, enforcement of child restraint laws and public education and training on the proper use and installation of child restraints.

    Last month, Sens. Lautenberg and Menendez also announced more than $450,000 in federal grants for upgrades to roads in Bergen and Essex Counties as part of the ongoing effort to make New Jersey’s roads and highways safer and to reduce traffic for the state’s drivers.

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