A bit of advice from one who knows
Gov. Corzine, still on crutches, cut a public-service spot urging people to wear seat belts.
TRENTON - Recuperating from broken bones after last month's highway crash, in which he was not wearing a seat belt, Gov. Corzine yesterday taped a 30-second announcement urging the public to buckle up.
"It's a forceful and hopefully persuasive piece that will encourage people of all ages to buckle their safety belts," said Corzine's communications director, Anthony Coley, who would not release the script.
Corzine taped the spot on crutches in the library of Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion in Princeton, where he is recovering from 11 broken ribs and other injuries after the April 12 crash on the Garden State Parkway.
"This is Jon Corzine presently," Coley said. "It's important that people understand the injuries that can result when someone fails to buckle up."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration paid for the spot, Coley said, but he did not know how much it cost or where it would be distributed. He said that it would air in New Jersey and possibly outside the state, and that he expected it to begin running before the Memorial Day weekend, the start of the summer driving season.
Corzine was on a ventilator for a week after the crash, and doctors said he was lucky to be alive. He returned to work last week.