Budget woes impact negatively states free roadside assistance

GHN News Editor - Since 1994, New Jersey has offered a
free roadside assistance program that may have to end because of
budgetary constraints and the same may happen in other states as well.


Police are often available to give
aid to motorists dealing with vehicle-related frustrations like dead
batteries, flat tires or an empty gas tank. The state's Emergency
Service Patrol (ESP) began in New Jersey not only as a public service,
but also to prevent the congestion and safety concerns that usually
result from cars on the side of the road.


The ESP program has aided
approximately 114,000 motorists on more than 400 miles of high-traffic
New Jersey roadways since its inception. But with government belts
tightening, legislators are wondering whether the program's $12 million
budget could be put to better use somewhere else.


Some members of the New Jersey
Privatization Task Force feel that the program is a luxury.  They think
it would be a better use of state and personal resources to have the
state contract with a private company to provide the same services as
the ESP, but at a fee to the motorist receiving the assistance.


Those who work for the ESP
program, as well as those who have benefited from it in the past, object
to the dismantling of the program.


Michael Collins, one of the 90
drivers currently employed by the ESP, sees his role as one of
lifesaver. In his view, "the ESP provides invaluable aid to motorists,
particularly in times of snow and ice. When weather conditions are bad,
and police are already overwhelmed by accidents and injuries, ESP
personnel can arrive on the scene to help stranded motorists who might
have otherwise waited hours for law enforcement assistance."


 Furthermore, some argue that
elimination of the program could tax the already strained resources of
state and local police forces.



Those involved in giving advice to
drivers on the road say remember many accidents are caused by
distracted drivers who collide with disabled vehicles. If your vehicle
becomes disabled, call for assistance and remain in the vehicle. You are
much more likely to be severely injured if struck as a pedestrian on
the shoulder of the road than you would be if you remained in your
vehicle.