New Jersey Governor: "I Should Be Dead"

Jon Corzine Records Public Service Spot Promoting Seat Belt Use After Crash That Almost Killed Him

(CBS/AP)  "I'm New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, and I should be dead."

So begins Corzine's public service announcement (video)promoting seat belt use, which was released Thursday.

It's a dramatic message from Corzine, whose failure to wear a seat belt one day last month left him with more than a dozen broken bones, reports CBS New correspondent Nancy Cordes.

Corzine worked with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration on the message, which was released to coincide with Memorial Day weekend travel.

He taped the announcement May 15 at the governor's mansion in Princeton, where he is recuperating. A clip made available on the governor's Web page shows Corzine sitting in the library. Audio and video versions of the message were being released to broadcast outlets nationwide.

After his opening, Corzine details his injuries as video plays of the wrecked SUV he was riding in. Corzine broke his leg, 11 ribs, collarbone and sternum in the crash and spent 18 days in the hospital.

"It took a remarkable team of doctors and a series of miracles to save my life when all I needed was a seat belt," Corzine says.

He then advises, "I have to live with my mistake. You don't. Buckle up."

Corzine has apologized and voluntarily paid a $46 fine for violating state law by failing to buckle up as he rode in the front seat of his SUV, which was driven by a state trooper. It crashed after it was clipped by a pickup truck on the Garden State Parkway. The SUV was going 91 mph in a 65 mph zone.

The release of the Corzine PSA comes during the annual "Click It or Ticket" seat belt enforcement campaign by law enforcement agencies across the country.

AAA says using a seat belt reduces the risk of death by 45 percent and the risk of moderate to critical injury by 50 percent for front seat passengers.

The organization's Mid-Atlantic spokesman David Weinstein praised the ad.

"Extraordinarily powerful," he said. "It will save lives."

Corzine is not the only politician taking heat for his habits, adds Cordes. The White House press corps wants to know why President Bush won't buckle up when he's tooling around his Texas compound.

"It's always important to wear seatbelts, especially when driving slowly on the ranch," Tony Snow, White House spokesman, said Wednesday, referring to Mr. Bush.

There is no question, but the president was seen Sunday at his ranch — which is private, not public — behind the wheel of his pickup truck, and he was not buckled up as he drove by reporters, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

The Corzine ad comes just days after a news conference at the governor's mansion in which he noted that about 229 people who weren't wearing their seat belts died in 2005 on New Jersey roads.

"Alcohol, other distracted driving elements, speed, all those issues combined, make our highways a threat if we don't do those things to protect ourselves, and one of the easiest things to do to protect ourselves is to buckle up," Corzine said.

[agnim]

"New Jersey Governor: "I Should Be Dead""

LOL
Don't worry, govner, you soon will be; you have at most a few decades; and then you are outa here! LOL

[noaanhc]

Powerful ad,everyone should heed his advice.

[feedback3-2009]

I agree with "forthepeople" when he says that he is a raving lunatic.....at least I think that's what he said.

[soindeep]

So tired of people and wont name names but these particular people having laws passed any time that some thing happens to them. My daughter fell off of a swing so we need swing-belts. Please it is every Americans right to choose the repercussions of their actions if they choose to ignore what is in place for their safety. To make it a law and then seek those who dont wear a belt is saddening and captolistic. Its crazy and just because this Governor or whatever saw the light then thank God and move on. Stop making laws and choosing to make those which we should have a choice in like seat-belts. If I want to hit a tree and kiss the windshield then so be it but you can just tell me to do what I should have a choice in. Cell Phones ????

[dblbar]

Whaty SeeBS also fails to mention is that this idiot and his driver were clocked at 64 in 55, by members of the media, on is way home from the hospital.
Posted by chicnlittle at 11:08 AM : May 24, 2007

And probably the same State trooper was driving....how sad....

[chicnlittle]

Whaty SeeBS also fails to mention is that this idiot and his driver were clocked at 64 in 55, by members of the media, on is way home from the hospital.

[dinglebopper]

My brother IS dead because he failed to buckle up. He was in a rollover crash, ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Although the vehicle sustained immeasurable damage, the driver's compartment was undamaged.

BUCKLE UP, indeed.

[cepe10-2009]

Only the atate trooper was responsible for the breaking the speeding law... Passengers can't be held accountable or liable for the actions of the person "operating the vehicle"

The fact that no citation was given to the state trooper and he did not volunter to take accountability for his actions is truly pathetic. Even the NJ DMW is unethical in knowingly allowing it not to affect his driving record. But that is the State Police and law enforcement in general - they truly believe that the laws of the land do not aplly to them... and since they police themselves it work very well...

[infidel_us]

N.J. Gov.: "I Should Be Dead"

I agree. :)

[dblbar]

Its just that they keep reminding us how NOBLE he was for paying a $46 ticket for no seatbelt, then remind us again that the vehicle was doing 91 in a 65 mph zone.....I don't care WHO was driving nor do I care WHOM the passenger was.....it was still against the law and it is now more clear to me than ever, some people ARE ABOVE the law, and THAT is what pi$$es me off....

Sorry guys, its Monday, only part 4.....

[truthspeake1]

Imagine how much the ticket was for the pickup driver...

[nlm2383]

I was wondering the same thing dblbar... That kind of confused me as to why a state trooper would allow someone to get in a vehicle and not put a seat belt on then drive 30 mph over the speed limit. He should have had to have paid that $46 fine for being such a dumb@ss. He was the authority figure there, I don't care who was in the car with him.

[space_poet]

Jeez, forthepeople, this is a seatbelt story, quit spamming the board with your call to arms. Though I do agree with it, there is a time and place for this, and when you shove it in peoples faces at every turn you turn them off to your cause.

[space_poet]

SUV's and their drivers seem to act as if they are so protected from harm that they can out gun everyone at a stop light and race through the streets and highways like nothing else matters. It seems to me from experience that the SUV and truck drivers are some of the most aggressive drivers on the road when they should be some of the more careful and slower vehicles and the consequences are us, the pedestrians, bikers, and sedan drivers. I am not dissing people, just the unsafe habit of aggressive driving in an already dangerous situation.

[forthepeopl1]

also get it in all blogs across the internet

EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO HELP WITH THIS SHOULD BE TALKING TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND TELLING THEM THAT AMERICANS ARE READY TO TAKE WASHINGTON ON AND ITS NOT A FEW AMERICANS ITMILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT WILL TAKE BACK THERE COUNTRY..

I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY BLOOD FOR ALL AMERICANS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK TO WHAT OUR FORFATHERS WANTED.

AM A VET AND AM READY TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AMERICAN BOYCOT/COOP IF WE THE PEOPLE DONT DO THIS NOW WE WILL BE GIVENING UP ON OUR CONSTITUTION AND WHAT ALL OUR VET HAVE DIED FOR..

DAVID A BELANGER,VET US ARMY,[e-mail]

ok so wants to join in on this great american REVOLUTION


they cant kill millions of americans at once so if we charge them all at once we will win and take them out and hang them all..

just like in the old days of the west...hang them from the trees in front of the whitehouse and see how many start telling the truth about what they have done to all us americans..


if the american NOW dont stand up and start a NATIONAL REVOUTION ON THIS WASHINGTON BULL S/H/I/T/ THEN we as TRUE AMERICANS can say nothing!!!

its time to take all this *** and take our government back now..

they are the ones that started this and we will finnish it now..we the people will take our country back and everyone in washington can sit there and thinks we the people are ok with what they are doing..go ahead and let them think that we are comming to take them out

[nolalou]

dblbar,

Actualy, that's an interesting question. For example., whenever the President comes to town, they close down the interstate in both directions for his motorcade. I assume they are not going the speed limit. I wonder if there are exceptions that let certain elected officials 'speed', especialy if the driver is a state trooper? Certainly, it's different if there are no other cars on the highway, but an accident could still occur with just one car. (crashing into a guardrail for example).

[dblbar]

so I ask the question again.....was the trooper ticketed for doing 91 in a 65 mph zone......doesn't matter who he was, he was still doing 30 mph over the speed limit......