N.J. drivers' advocate works many roads

A motorist with a neatly coiffed professorial beard and spotless white polo shirt pulls up at the full service gas station, puts to memory the number of miles on his tripometer and walks quickly to the pump hoping to beat the attendant. The gas jockey is already there, so Steve Carrellas does not get to pump his own petrol...

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Clik here to view.Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerSteve Carrellas,New Jersey representative of the National Motorists Association. Carrellas, 54, a licensed professional engineer, has pushed for raising the speed limit above 55, getting rid of HOV carpool lanes and ending vehicle inspections.
A motorist with a neatly coiffed professorial beard and spotless white polo shirt pulls up at the full service gas station, puts to memory the number of miles on his tripometer and walks quickly to the pump hoping to beat the attendant.

The gas jockey is already there, so Steve Carrellas does not get to pump his own petrol this time — it’s against the law in New Jersey, anyway.

But he is a picky sort of car guy, concerned about gas spills on his immaculately kept silver 2001 Saab wagon. So when the pump clicks off he asks if he can finish the job, carefully taking the nozzle from the gas tank lid to avoid spills or nicks to the paint. No topoffs for him.

The motorist from Berkeley Heights pulls out a logbook and makes a notation that he paid $29.55 for 9.7 gallons of premium fuel and had traveled 253 miles since his last fill-up.

Say hello to the New Jersey representative of the National Motorists Association, the Garden State’s big wheel when it comes to driving freedoms. The open road is a basic American experience, as he sees it, and this non-salaried volunteer executive has made it his job to protect Jersey drivers from petty bureaucracy, intrusive government, silly rules and anything else that robs us of our basic right to enjoy the road.

With the patience of Job and the brains of Steve Jobs, Carrellas, 54, a licensed professional engineer, has pushed for raising the speed limit above 55, getting rid of HOV carpool lanes and ending vehicle inspections.

One by one, he has checked his traffic wishes off his list.

He claimed the latest victory this month when state officials announced they would end vehicle inspections for mechanical defects beginning July 1. Carrellas has long maintained the time-consuming inspections weren’t needed because motorists pick up on defects as part of their normal vehicle maintenance schedule.

Carrellas also was thrilled to hear Gov. Chris Christie defend motorists in March while explaining why mass transit riders would have to pay for their first fare increase in three years.

"Drivers have paid increased tolls two years in the last four years, and I didn’t think it was their turn to feel the pain," Christie said at the time.

"He didn’t even need me to make the quote — he beat me to the punchline," Carrellas said.

Next up on his hit list is the recent law mandating stickers on the cars of teen drivers and the red-light cameras at traffic intersections that allow police to issue violations by remote without ever making a stop.

If history is any indication, someday those programs will either be gone or watered down — thanks in part to Carrellas.

In 1986, Carrellas began calling for a repeal of the 55 mph maximum speed limit in New Jersey. It was raised to 65 mph in 1998.

At the beginning of the 1990s, he called for an end to the HOV carpool lanes on New Jersey’s highways. The lane restrictions ended in 1998.

Sharon Harrington, a former New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission chief administrator who now serves as commissioner of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, likens Carrellas to the determined, slow and steady tortoise in the popular Aesop Fable.

"He’s a very articulate and outstanding representative for motorist issues, and he always has sound arguments," said Harrington, who often used Carrellas as a sounding board. "He’s very thorough, and when he makes a statement, it is with the appropriate reference material and research. He’s well-respected by the Legislature and he’s well-respected by the policy makers."

Noting the systems engineer’s propensity for thorough, often wordy explanations, Harrington joked: "You didn’t want to make your call to Steve at 5 o’clock."

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said that although Carrellas is a hard worker, he disagrees with the policies of the National Motorists Association.

"They tend to lobby on behalf of policies that really set the country back and hurt the environment," Tittel said. "They’re really part of the sprawl lobby and the pollution lobby, because they don’t look at the big picture. Their policies are sort of running full steam into the 1950s."

Regarding a higher speed limit, Tittel said, faster cars use more energy and cause more pollution, and the higher speed limits encourage people to live farther out, causing more sprawl.

Carrellas, who joined the National Motorists Association after reading an editorial in Road & Track magazine calling into question the national maximum speed limit of 55 mph, countered that motorist policies should be based on scientific and engineering criteria and public consensus, not the political wishes of special interest groups.

Increasing the speed to 65 mph provided a smoother and safer traffic flow and better fuel mileage because people were maintaining a constant speed, he said.

"If you don’t put in something (a speed) that people believe in, they are going to do the faster speed, anyway," Carrellas said.

A native of Rhode Island, Carrellas moved to New Jersey in 1978. He married his wife, Martha, the next year.

He had been New Jersey coordinator of the NMA since 1988, but this year started shedding some of his old duties.

How long will he stay on as the voice for New Jersey’s motorists?

"Probably until I leave the state for other pastures — or until somebody gets self-serve gas."