By Anthony M. Bucco

If there is one certain thing about yesterday's storm, it's that everyone saw it coming. We had been warned of snow for days, and reports made it clear that it would be a few inches deep and followed by freezing rain - making conditions even more treacherous.

The other certainty about yesterday's storm is that Gov. Phil Murphy and his administration were ill prepared for the event. Unfortunately for all of us, this is becoming a pattern, especially when it comes to transportation issues.

In his post-storm press conference, the governor blamed the state's wholly inadequate response on forecasters and people clogging the roads for the complete lack of snowplows or salt trucks.

Now, I'm going to say something that all of you who follow me know, but which apparently will be breaking news to the @GovMurphy administration. Sleet and freezing rain are NOT driver-friendly weather phenomena. 4/x — Gary Szatkowski (@GarySzatkowski) November 16, 2018

More concerning is the fact that today's technology allows us to be continually updated on changing weather conditions, and the updates on our cell phones, radios and newscasts constantly warned that the storm was becoming more dangerous.

Bucco: Gov. Phil Murphy should have skipped his Atlantic City speech and headed to the Regional Operations Intelligence Center to coordinate a response to the pending nor'easter. (Julio Cortez | Associated Press)

Yet, it was obvious that no one in a leadership position at the department of transportation appeared to be listening.

For his part, Murphy was in Atlantic City preparing for a speech to elected officials at the League of Municipalities Convention as the storm was approaching. He should have skipped the speech and headed to the Regional Operations Intelligence Center to coordinate a response to the pending nor'easter.

It is clear that the problem was a lack of leadership by the governor, and he needs to take responsibility for that.

As a result of the state being unprepared, many local towns had to use their plows and salt trucks to clear state roads so people could get off the highways. That is unacceptable.

It happened on roads like Route 46 and Route 206; up and down the state local resources were overstretched and overburdened.

It took me 5 hours and 40 minutes to travel from Piscataway to Mendham. #snowmess https://t.co/7jhstTjfgX — Governor Christie (@GovChristie) November 16, 2018

Let's not forget that the men and women who drive those trucks for our state, counties and local municipalities did an amazing job working through the night despite a lack of preparation by the state. They deserve our support and praise, not blame.

This is a serious situation that should not be minimized. When every highway and major roadway is shut down, it puts people's lives at risk. Not only do we have to deal with the safety of our drivers, but we also have to consider children as young as five-years old stuck on school buses for hours away from their worried parents.

Worse, there are people who need delivery of oxygen and medical supplies. The ability of our first responders to reach emergency situations and get our residents to hospitals when necessary is paramount.

There were thousands of people who needed immediate assistance and struggled to get it, while our state police worked hard to reach 500-plus car accidents that occurred because the state was not prepared. When things are in gridlock everyone is in greater danger.

This is now the second time in less than a year that the governor wasn't prepared and slow to respond.

In March of this year, we faced a similar event with the same results, and the Legislature never determined why. Now it has happened again, and just like before lives were put in greater danger.

That is why the day after the storm, I asked the chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee to invite the state transportation commissioner to our next committee meeting in Trenton on Dec. 6 to explain what went wrong and what will be changed so this never happens again.

The public has a right to hear the answers and deserves better.

Anthony M. Bucco has been an assemblyman since 2010, serving as the Republican conference leader since July 2017. A lifelong resident of Boonton, he represents parts of Morris and Somerset counties in the 25th Legislative District.

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