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

A new study rates highways based on fatal accidents between summer of 2004 through summer of 2008, divided by the total number of miles on the highway. Interstate 76 in New Jersey had 1.64 fatal deaths per mile, making it the second deadliest in the country.

The results of the study come during an opportune time. Thousands of new Jerseyans are getting ready to travel across the state on holiday. Summer has traditionally meant a higher risk of accidents because of all that traffic. When there are more numbers of vehicles on the road, there are likely to be more accidents, and that's a fact.

However, it doesn't have to be that way. . As a Freehold accident lawyer, I believe that no matter what highways you're driving on, you can increase your risks of getting home safe and sound. There's not much you can do to control the behavior of other motorists around you, but you're entirely responsible for the actions that you take when you're traveling. For starters, make sure that you are in the right condition to drive. Avoid driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs at all costs.

The biggest thing you could do to prevent fatal injuries to occupants of your vehicle is to encourage everyone to wear seatbelts and buckle up yourself to. Seatbelt use has found to be the single biggest factor in minimizing highway crash fatalities over the past few years. Seatbelt use across the country is at record highs at about 84%.

Drive at safe speeds, and switch off your cell phones and other electronic devices while at the wheel. Minimize distractions as much as possible.

Hat Tip: Texas Personal Injury Lawyer

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There has been a spike in the number of highway construction work zone accidents on New Jersey highways, and it's causing great concern to New Jersey car accident lawyers and the Department of Transportation.

According to this report, there were 5,247 construction work zone accidents in New Jersey last year. That was an increase of 8% over the figures in 2008. Bergen County seems to have been hit particularly hard by this spike. It had a total of 631 work zone crashes, and these accounted for three of the 11 fatal accidents across the state. In 2008, Bergen County had 430 such work zone accidents.

Passaic County however, saw a drop however in such accident rates. There were 217 highway work zones accident here in 2009, compared to 959 in 2006. The biggest possible explanation for the drop could simply be that there isn't a lot of construction work going on Passaic County. It's obvious that a higher number of construction projects, results in more numbers of accidents, injuries and fatalities.

The spike in accidents across New Jersey has spurred the launch of two separate studies into the possible causes of these accidents, at what location do these occur and what kind of safety measures could be taken to prevent these. The Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation and the New Jersey Institute of Technology are conducting the two studies.

There's a lot that motorists could do to prevent accidents on construction highway work zones. Avoid speeding and tailgating. Don't change lanes randomly in the middle of the work zone, and don’t slow down speeds to look at what’s going on. Be alert to warning signs and flaggers. New Jersey transportation officials must also look at the efficacy of warning systems and signs, and how these can be enhanced to minimize these accident rates.

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Preliminary data released by the Department of Transportation indicate that there has been a record-breaking dip in the number of highway fatalities that occurred on American roads last year. In 2009, according to the data, there were 33,960 deaths on our highways, a drop of 9% from the previous year.

As a New Jersey injury lawyer, I have been blogging about the declining accident fatality rates across the country, including in our state. This year's numbers, while not low enough by any standards, are still extremely encouraging to those of us who would like to see fewer people killed and fewer lives shattered in preventable traffic accidents. According to the Department of Translation, fewer incidences of alcohol-related car accidents, greater use of seatbelts and safer cars have contributed to these decreasing fatalities.

I have to agree. Americans are safer now on the highways than they were even a decade ago, and that's no small accomplishment. However, that isn't to say that we don't have challenges on our roads.

·         The biggest challenges come from more and more numbers of technological distractions making their way into our vehicles. These include not just cell phones and texting devices, but also dashboard computers that are beginning to appear in cars.

·         Fatalities could also be reduced if we could focus a little harder on motorcycle safety. This is one category of highway users that continues to be at a high risk for death. We still continue to have far too many deaths in motorcycle crashes, even when the motorcyclist is wearing helmets.

·         The challenges to raising a new generation of informed drivers are greater today than they were a decade ago. Teen motorists have far too many distractions to enable them to drive safely. Law enforcement agencies in New Jersey must focus harder on enforcing traffic safety rules, educating teen motorists by taking the message to high schools around the state.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey accident lawyer, representing injured victims of automobile accidents in Monmouth, Ocean, Passaic, and Bergen Counties and across New Jersey.

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A highway safety group has awarded top marks to the state of New Jersey for its adoption of highway safety laws that can prevent injuries and minimize fatalities in accidents.

The group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has released its 7^th Annual Road Map to State Highway Safety Laws report. The group reviewed 15 basic laws that will contribute to a reduction in fatalities and injuries in highway accidents. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were reviewed based on whether they have adopted all these laws.

States were awarded credits, and given a rating of green, yellow and red. Green signifies that the state has sufficient basic laws in place to prevent highway deaths and injuries, while yellow signifies that the state still has to make more progress, and a red rating denotes failure to adopt basic safety laws that continue to place citizens in danger.

New Jersey, I was very encouraged to note, received 13 credits, the highest among all states.  Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has some recommendations to further bring down fatality rates and injuries in the state. The group recommends nighttime restrictions and between 30 and 50 hours of supervised driving for GDL holders. It also recommends ignition interlock laws for all DUI offenders in order to minimize drunk driving accident fatalities in the state. The group recommends these devices for all offenders, including first time offenders.

As a Bergen County auto accident lawyer, I have been a strong supporter of ignition interlock laws because of their potential for preventing repeat drunk driving. Too many DUI offenders in New Jersey are able to get back behind the wheel in an intoxicated state, posing a serious danger to other motorists on the road. With an interlock device on all their vehicles, such motorists could be kept off the streets.

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