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

As a New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer, I have been concerned about the fact that there have been no comprehensive studies done into motorcycle accident causation since the Hurt Report was published in the 80s. Other minor studies have used traditional research technologies, and these have provided very little insight into why motorcycle accident fatalities across New Jersey and the rest of the country, have been rising the way they have over the past few years.

A new study sponsored by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, could provide new insight into motorcycle accident causes.

The study is a departure from traditional research. It is based on naturalistic methods, and involves the placing of small video cameras and data acquisition sensors on a number of motorcycles. These cameras and sensors will record a number of variables, including the motorcyclist’s driving behaviors, motoring environment, vehicle condition, and roadways. These factors will be considered at the time of analyzing a motorcycle crash.

According to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, this is the first naturalistic study of its kind conducted into motorcycle crash causes. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute has had great success using these methods to study the causes of other types of accidents. As a Monmouth County motorcycle accident lawyer, I believe we need more studies to find out why crash fatality rates are increasing. There's no hope of preventing this increase in motorcycle crash deaths, if we don't understand what's causing the spike.

Scott Grossman is a Monmouth County motorcycle accident lawyer, representing injured victims of motorcycle accidents in Freehold, Howell, and Marlboro and around Monmouth County and the state of New Jersey.

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As a New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer, it has been a  matter of great concern to me that we simply don't seem to be making progress on reducing these fatality rates. Even as we celebrate a sharp decline in fatality rates in other types of accidents, there has been no progress made towards controlling annual motorcycle crash fatality rates. These continue to climb with no end in sight.

A recently released report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety throws some light on how we can reduce those rates. According to the study, motorcycle riders whose vehicles came equipped with antilock braking systems, were much less likely to be involved in an accident. That's because these systems prevent the motorcycle wheels from getting locked when the rider brakes suddenly. The antilock brake systems therefore prevent the motorcycle from somersaulting after the brakes are applied.

Another separate study by the Highway Loss Data Institute also showed similar findings. That study looked at motorcycle accident insurance claims, and found that motorcyclists riding bikes with antilock brakes were less likely to file insurance claims after a crash, than motorcyclists whose bikes did not come with these features.

The other findings from the study showed that motorcyclists in states that had mandatory helmet laws in place were less likely to file an insurance claim, compared to motorcyclists who live in states that do not have such strong motorcycle safety laws. That's not news to New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyers, but we could definitely be enforcing helmet laws much stronger.

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 You can't fail to see the irony of a man surviving 15 months on duty in Iraq, only to die in a New Jersey motorcycle accident barely three months after his return. On the 21^st of September last year, 21-year-old Anthony LaSelva, a New Jersey Army National Guard reservist was riding his new Kawasaki motorcycle on a Washington Township road. As he rounded a sharp corner, he struck a curb, and then crashed into a street light that wasn’t even lit at the time. LaSelva died from injuries sustained in the accident.

His family has now filed a lawsuit against the municipality for its failure to create safe conditions for driving on that road. The corner where the accident occurred has no warning sign posted to warn motorists or riders of the intensely sharp curve ahead, and the street lights were not functioning properly. In short, conditions were perfect for a fatal crash like the one that killed LaSelva. The lawsuit cites the "negligence" of the township for permitting "hazardous conditions" on the road, manifested by the lack of signs and non-functioning street lights.  The lawsuit also mentions Atlantic City Electric, which is the company that was responsible for maintaining the street lights.

The Township has refused to admit responsibility for the accident, saying it could not be held responsible for LaSelva's death. This despite the fact that several complaints had been made by residents in the neighborhood to the authorities, regarding the malfunctioning street lights on that stretch of road. The Township had also received complaints about the sharp curve, and the lack of warning signs at the site. 

If the authorities had made an effort to fix problems with the street lighting, and wake up to the possibility that a sharp curve on a poorly-lit street was fraught with dangerous possibilities, it's highly likely that LaSelva would have been alive today.  As for his family, it's easy to understand their anguish. As his mother says, she thought he was safe when he finally returned from Iraq after serving 15 long months in one of the most dangerous places on earth. She probably never considered the fact that the streets in her town could be as treacherous as a war zone.

Unfortunately, all too often authorities scrimp on essential road maintenance until there is a tragic incident that calls for action. Why does a young man have to die for the municipality to wake up to the enormity of the problem? It seems like it's only when a New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer gets involved, that the people in charge are forced to sit up and take notice of the issue.

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