Governor Jon S. Corzine

PAMELA FISCHER APPOINTED
HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY DIVISION DIRECTOR

TRENTON – Governor Jon S. Corzine today announced the appointment of Pamela S. Fischer as the new director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
Fischer, 47, vice president of public affairs for the AAA New Jersey Automobile Club in Florham Park, is a well-known advocate on traffic safety issues, including child passenger safety and the graduated driver’s license law. She has been a member of the Highway Traffic Safety Policy Advisory Council for a dozen years and has been a member of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission since 2003.

“Pam Fischer has dedicated her career to traffic safety issues and will be a great leader at the Division of Highway Traffic Safety,� Governor Corzine said. “I am grateful that she agreed to accept the appointment to spearhead our efforts to reduce the number of highway and pedestrian crashes and make New Jersey’s highways and streets safer.�

“Ms. Fischer is extraordinarily committed to tackling one of our state’s most pressing issues – reducing the number of automobile and pedestrian accidents,’’ Attorney General Stuart Rabner said. “She is well respected in her field and brings experience, energy and enthusiasm to the job.�

“I am very humbled by this appointment,� Fischer said. “My focus all these years has been trying to make a difference – to save lives. I’m honored by the Governor’s appointment and ready to roll up my sleeves and work with him to reduce injuries and fatalities on our roadways.�

Fischer said her priorities include establishing a teen driver study commission to ensure full implementation of the state’s Graduated Driver’s License law, increasing pedestrian safety and distracted driving educational efforts, and focusing attention on senior mobility issues.

Fischer, who lives in Long Valley with her husband and their son, has worked at the AAA New Jersey Automobile Club for more than 20 years. She began as the public relations manager in 1986. She is a native of Hershey, Pa., graduated from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., in 1981, and holds a certificate in advanced management from The Wharton School

Fischer has been closely involved with passage of a number of legislative initiatives in Trenton, including bicycle helmet laws, making seat belt use a primary offense, safety belts on school buses, and the nation’s first 8/80 child booster seat law. She was chairman of the national AAA Child Passenger Safety Work Group.

Fischer, who served as co-chair of Governor Corzine’s transportation transition team, is due to start work on March 6.

The bulk of the division’s $13.2 million budget comes from the federal government, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Division funds statewide traffic safety programs and supports local and county enforcement campaigns aimed at reducing drunk and aggressive driving. It also funds the Click It or Ticket campaign to enforce seat belt use.