NJ Makes It Illegal for People With DWI Suspensions to Operate NJ Transit Trains

TRENTON – Can't drive a car? Then you can't run the train in New Jersey, either.

It's now against the law for employees who's drivers licenses have been suspended for a DWI offense from operating an NJ Transit train.

Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday signed the measure into law, which was proposed after an NJ Transit engineer earlier this year made headlines for remaining on the job even though his license was suspended for repeated drunken driving offenses.

Federal law doesn’t require railway workers to have a motor vehicle driver’s license to operate a train.

Christie said the law "enhances the public’s confidence in New Jersey Transit by ensuring that trains will not be operated by someone who has been proven to have put lives at risk by driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

“It’s entirely illogical for New Jersey to allow people who are prohibited from driving to be in charge of public transportation,” bill sponsor Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling, D-Monmouth, said after the bill signing.

“New Jersey can’t have one set of standards for safety on our roadways and another for safety on our railroads,” Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, D-Burlington, added. “Those who have proven a willingness to disobey the law and endanger themselves and other motorists cannot – and should not – be trusted to transport hundreds of thousands of people a day.”