http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/150329835_Why_don_t_red-light_fines_help_EMTs_.html?page=all

(Ban the Cams note:  check out TX article on state shafting Trauma centers of RLC LOOT.  http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/36/3691.asp)

Road Warrior: Why don't red-light fines help EMTs?
Sunday, May 6, 2012    Last updated: Sunday May 6, 2012, 8:54 AM
By JOHN CICHOWSKI
ROAD WARRIOR COLUMNIST
 

You probably didn't know this, but penalties for speeding, careless driving and most other moving violations come with a tiny silver lining:

Small pieces of these fines support several funds, most of which relate to road crashes such as spinal-cord and brain-injury research and training for the emergency medical technicians who one day might save your life.

Except on those occasions when the fines don't pay off.

That seems to be the case with the $85 penalty you incur when a camera catches you running a red light in 23 towns including Wayne, Newark and Palisades Park. The New Jersey First Aid Council says its 322 volunteer squads aren't getting their share of fine money, a factor that could jeopardize the effectiveness of its 20,000 EMTs.

"Our training fund is broke," said Ed Burdzyk, the council's executive director. "Without red-light-camera money, we won't be able to train, certify and recertify the 6,000 volunteers that must be trained each year."

Is the Christie administration raiding this health and safety fund to bolster the state budget?

Transportation Commissioner James Simpson seemed surprised when questioned about it. "We're adding to traffic safety, not subtracting," Simpson insisted.

Indeed, the Department of Transportation has doubled its $2 million budget for improving crosswalks.

But people will always be hurt in crashes. Will EMTs who come to help us still be well-trained? Or will there be shortages as squads kick out those who can't keep up with mandatory training requirements?

Initial EMT certification now requires nearly 200 hours of training. In January, the training fee more than doubled to $1,200.

"Today, both adults in a family have to work," observed Doug Tobin, a veteran EMT in South Hackensack, "so it's harder than ever to get volunteers. They have to put food on the table first."

If they do volunteer, will they pay for their own training?

"That's what's happening in some squads," Tobin said.

Recognizing this problem in the early 1990s, the Legislature included EMT training in a law that allocates portions of traffic fine revenue to various funds. The EMT training fund gets 50 cents for each fine for a moving violation — about $2 million annually. Another $1 is collected for police body armor. Each of three research funds covering autism, spinal-cord damage and brain injury gets $1. A fund for DNA collection gets $2.

The whole fund generates nearly $50 million annually, with about one-third going to the court system.

The First Aid Council had expected receipts to increase after red-light cameras began to be installed under a DOT pilot program now at 65 lights in 23 towns. But revenue remained static. Last month, the First Aid Council's Howard Meyer asked a DOT representative — David Martin — about it at a state Highway Safety Policy Advisory Council meeting.

"Dave called later to say we weren't getting the money," Meyer said. "He was surprised."

Based on DOT figures, Meyer estimated that the EMT training fund was due about $380,000.

Where did the money go?

A DOT spokesman referred questions to the Treasury Department whose spokesman, Andy Pratt, insisted that "every dime that goes into the EMT fund is used for EMT training."

But Pratt noted there were "categories that qualify" for EMT training funds, such as cardiac EMT training, that might fall outside guidelines familiar to those who examine DOT budgets.

Maybe so, but that doesn't explain why red-light-camera fines can't be used as revenue. Pratt didn't have an answer. Neither did Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak.

Burdzyk and Meyer suspect ineligibility might hinge on two facts — that the camera law is a five-year pilot program and its tickets are issued by mail, not by cops. But the statutes establishing the funds and the camera law are silent on these points.

EMTs know enough about how the state calculates its bottom line. In the past, two former governors — Christie Whitman and Jon Corzine — gained enough legislative support to raid millions from EMT training funds. But EMTs know another way to calculate the bottom line.

"Our volunteers handle 1,000 calls a day," Burdzyk said. "Based on minimum fees charged by private companies, we're saving New Jersey about $225 million."

Why tamper even a little bit with that equation?

Road Warrior stops by here each Wednesday, Friday & Sunday. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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