Put the Brakes on Fatalities Comes to Cherry Hill, Camden County

Camden County and Cherry Hill will be part of an annual nationwide effort to raise driver awareness and cut down on fatal crashes in Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day Thursday.

The program, launched in 2001, promotes safe driving habits—from always buckling up to avoiding distractions like texting behind the wheel to always driving sober—with the goal of having no deadly crashes for a day.

“The annual initiative to cut down on traffic fatalities by raising traffic safety awareness is a priority of the freeholder board.” said freeholder Scot McCray, liaison to the Department of Public Safety. “It is our hope that the ability to raise awareness by email, internet and social media will result in another successful Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day in Camden County.”

The last two years, there haven't been any fatal crashes on the program's designated day, and overall crash deaths dipped about 6 percent, dropping from 627 in 2011 to 589 in 2012.

There were six fatal crashes in Cherry Hill last year, including one on Kings Highway that killed 19-year-old township resident Robert Scouler III.

Cherry Hill had the most fatal crashes of any town in Camden County for the year, edging Camden and Winslow; there were 26 people killed countywide in 25 accidents in 2012, according to State Police data.

Cherry Hill officers will be part of the county's efforts for the day, running safety messages on message boards around the township and using enforcement details to reach as many drivers as possible, police said.