Two New Jersey congressmen have introduced legislation to allow towns to paint strips of blue on roadways to honor police after regulators said the tributes crossed the line of federal safety rules.
Republican U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance and Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell introduced legislation Tuesday to permit the blue lines that have sprung up in towns around the state and elsewhere after more than 100 police officers were killed in the line of duty last year.
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Communities saw the blue line as an appropriate way to thank officers and others for their efforts and the sacrifices they make.
But after an official in Somerset County wrote to the Federal Highway Administration to get clarification about whether the blue lines painted between the double yellow lines in the center of roadways were permitted, agency officials informed them that the lines don’t comply with the provisions of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways.
Noting that 135 police officers were killed in the line of duty last year, Pascrell and Lance said “communities should be able to honor law enforcement without the federal government’s telling them no.”
