New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

The issue of cell phone use while driving is one that auto safety experts and lawmakers are constantly grappling with. As a New Jersey personal injury lawyer, I don’t believe that an outright ban will be completely effective, if it is not combined with other measures that coax motorists to take steps to prevent them from using their cell phone while driving.

The New York Times is reporting on how cell phone muzzling technologies that block calls when a person is driving, might point the way to a future where cell phone use behind the wheel is less of a risk than it is now. Cell phone manufacturers and automakers have been doing their best to make it safer for motorists to carry on a conversation while driving and still be safe. Hands-free sets are hugely popular, and are allowed in states that have banned the use of hand-held cell phones, including New Jersey. However, as a car accident lawyer I have always been leery about how effective hands-free sets can be in lowering accident risks.

After all, the risk of a crash comes because the driver is so distracted by the conversation he is having, and not so much by the use – or lack thereof – of his hands. Studies have shown that talking on the cell phone while driving makes you four times as likely to meet with an accident, regardless of whether you are using a hands-free set or a handheld phone.

As long as we’re talking of fighting technology with technology, call blocking technologies might be the way forward,. These systems use the cell phone’s own GPS sensors to determine whether the motorist is at driving speed, and then immediately disable the cell phone until the car is stopped. These services may be right for those who simply can’t bring themselves to switch off their cell phones while driving.

An added incentive - insurance companies have begun to offer discounts for customers who sign up for call blocking services. Nationwide Insurance Company has announced a discount of 5 percent for customers who sign up for the service, and State Farm Insurance is also studying the effectiveness of call muzzling technology. Currently, no insurer offers discounts for hands-free sets.

I am all for any technology that does for motorists what they may not be able to do themselves - avoid calls or texting while driving.

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Image Courtesy: Flickr - streetsmarts

In March, 18 municipalities across 17 counties in New Jersey, including Bergen County undertook a special two week crackdown on motorists who use their cell phones while driving, thereby increasing their risk of being involved in an automobile accident. The two week crackdown also included the participation of Atlantic, Morris, Union,  Mercer counties and others.

New Jersey passed a law last year prohibiting the use of hand held cell phones behind the wheel.  However, judging by the number of people who continue to use handheld cell phones while driving, many New Jerseyans, including those in Bergen and Monmouth County, still haven’t received that particular message. 

Since the law was passed, more than 108,000 errant motorists have been pulled over and ticketed for talking or texting on their phones. To reinforce these efforts, a special two week crackdown on drivers operating handheld cell phones resulted in hundreds of summons being issued to motorists who were in violation of the law. Disturbingly enough, after the two week crackdown ended, a survey showed that the number of motorists using cell phones after the crackdown was almost the same as those before the special enforcement. Even more disturbingly, 90% of New Jersey drivers are aware that there is a law prohibiting them from operating a handheld phone, and that they can be pulled over and fined for doing so. Also, 80% of the people seem to support it. 

So, what does that mean?  That people are aware of the law, but many of them support it only in theory? There could be other reasons why the law, even though it has resulted in dramatic spikes in the numbers of people ticketed for cell phone use, has still not led to people curbing that itch to reach for the phone when it rings. Law enforcement has had a problem putting enough officers on duty to enforce the law. So, the numbers of motorists who have been able to get away with cell phone use has been higher than Governor Corzine would have liked when he signed the law.

Personal Injury Lawyers Support the Ban

Cell phone use behind the wheel has grown into enough of a driving risk for states across the country to move quickly to enact laws regulating the use of these devices. No state in the country has a complete ban on the use of all cell phones while driving, but many including California and New Jersey have laws banning the use of handheld phones, which includes texting. In New Jersey, the law itself has been controversial with safety experts divided over how effective a ban on handheld devices is. Many MonmouthCounty personal injury lawyers however believe that the ban on handheld devices is a promising first step, and while it may not show the kinds of results we want immediately, it could lead to a more comprehensive ban down the road.

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Image Courtesy: Flickr - Mike Dakinewavamon Kline

New Jersey has the distinction of being one of the first states to clamp down on the use of hand held cell phones, but now a national safety group is calling for a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving to eliminate one of the biggest causes of auto accidents.

Drivers in NJ are banned from talking on a hand held phone, or text messaging on one, and teen drivers are banned from all cell phone devices behind the wheel, but the state doesn't have a complete ban on cell phone use by motorists. In fact, no state in the country has a complete ban in place. That needs to change, say the National Safety Council whose President Janet Froetcher has called for a ban on all cell phone devices, both hand held and hands free. The reason for the push for no cell phone use in a moving vehicle is the growing number of automobile crashes that are being linked to these accidents. Ever since these devices became a part of our lives, cell phone usage while driving has become the biggest distraction to motorists, ranking above turning on the radio, reaching for something, or eating in the car.  

Cell phone use is not looked at with the kind of reprehension we would reserve for, say, a drunk driver, and yet, evidence seems to suggest that using your cell phone – whether hand held or hands free devices – can negatively affect your ability to drive just as much as a few drinks can. Froetcher says the mistake is in assuming that a ban on hand held devices will suffice, when logic will tell you that the biggest distraction from using a cell phone doesn't occur because you are using your hand to hold the phone, but because your mind is miles away with your chatting partner, instead of the road ahead. In short, it's the attention deficit when you're using a cell phone that's the cause for accidents blamed on cell phone use.

In recent months, the Metrolink train crash in California has firmly turned the spotlight on cell phone use by drivers. The engineer in that accident was later found to have been exchanging text messages while he was on the ill fated journey. Dozens of messages were found to have been sent by the engineer, including one sent just a few minutes before the crash. The calls for tougher legislation to ban cell phone use have grown louder since then.

In New Jersey, it's been hard to quantify the effects of our cell phone legislation. While accident rates are down, it's still not certain whether this is due at least in part to rising gas prices.  As a personal injury lawyer who regularly represents victims of accidents in Monmouth County, I believe we will find in the days and years ahead that these laws lead to safer streets and more responsible driving which is nothing but good news, for New Jerseyans.

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