A new countywide traffic safety initiative aimed at reducing fatal crashes and dangerous driving will begin enforcement operations in Trenton on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey announced the creation of the ACED Task Force Initiative, which stands for Awareness & Community Education for Drivers. The program brings together municipal police departments throughout Mercer County, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Police and state transportation and highway safety agencies in a coordinated effort to improve roadway safety.
The initiative will combine increased traffic enforcement, public education and analysis of crash data to identify dangerous intersections and roadways. Particular attention will be given to speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving and pedestrian safety.
The first enforcement operations are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, along Route 29 and Route 129 in Trenton. Similar operations will continue throughout the county year-round, with special attention directed toward high-risk corridors, including portions of Route 1.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Mercer County recorded an average of 27 fatal crashes and 28 traffic deaths annually between 2019 and 2025. The deadliest year during that period was 2024, when 37 fatal crashes claimed 38 lives.
Between 2019 and 2022, the county recorded between 7,495 and 11,576 police-reported crashes annually. Pedestrian fatalities have been a particular concern, accounting for a disproportionately high share of traffic deaths.
“Mercer County is committed to educating drivers on the risks associated with dangerous driving,” Marbrey said. “The ACED outreach initiative reinforces the shared responsibility to prevent tragedies before they occur and keep our roads safe for all. By utilizing a unified strategy and treating traffic violence as a public health issue, we are prioritizing prevention, intervening in hazardous driving behaviors, and focusing on protecting the most vulnerable road users.”
Under the program, participating police departments will use crash statistics, traffic patterns and enforcement data to identify locations where serious accidents are most likely to occur. Officers will then conduct targeted enforcement operations, including increased patrols, sobriety checkpoints, speed enforcement and coordinated traffic enforcement campaigns involving multiple agencies.
The effort will also include engineering reviews of intersections identified as having a high risk of fatal or serious crashes. Those reviews will be coordinated with transportation officials to identify potential safety improvements.
Education will be another component of the initiative. Members of the prosecutor’s office Serious Collision Response Team will conduct traffic safety presentations in Mercer County schools, focusing on new and inexperienced drivers and the consequences of dangerous driving behaviors.
A countywide public awareness campaign will reinforce messages about speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving and pedestrian safety. The campaign will also promote New Jersey’s Target Zero initiative, which seeks to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries through education, enforcement and roadway improvements.
The ACED program is supported through partnerships with the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. Additional participants include the Mercer County Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Officials also plan to pursue additional state and federal highway safety funding to support the program over the long term.
The prosecutor’s office said the task force will regularly evaluate its effectiveness by examining crash statistics, traffic enforcement activity, drunken driving arrests and public awareness measures. The results will be used to determine where additional enforcement and educational efforts are needed.
Although the initial operation will focus on Trenton, the initiative is designed to provide a coordinated approach to traffic safety across all Mercer County municipalities, rather than relying on individual departments to address dangerous driving independently.
For more information about the ACED Task Force Initiative, contact Sgt. Anthony Sturchio at 609-503-2952 or visit mercercountyprosecutor.com.
