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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A motorcycle accident that recently occured left two people seriously injured. According to a Trenton Times article 31 year-old Dheeraj Kalpish and 26 year-old Jessica S. Zito were traveling westbound on 1-195 when their motorcycle crashed into the rear of a car directly in front of them. The impact threw both of them about 30 feet off the motorcycle leaving them in critical condition. According to the State Police, Kaplish was rushed to the Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden, by a medical helicopter. Jessica Zito was transported to the trauma unit at Capital Health System at Fuld hospital in Trenton, by an ambulance. 

As a Monmouth County New Jersey Motorcycle accident lawyer attorney I have seen first hand the devastating toll that motorcycle accidents have taken on its victims and families. It was not reported in the above article whether the car in front of the motorcycle suddenly stopped short (a very possible scenario).  Regardless of whose fault the crash was, we know for certain that New Jersey's over crowed highways and major roads can be a most dangerous place for motorcycle riders.

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New Jersey motorcycle riders continue to be involved in many deaths and serious injuries on our densely populated and over crowded roads.  As a matter of fact 87 deaths occurred between 2006 and 2007 according to a Trenton Times article which cites recent NJ motorcycle accident statistics from the New Jersey State Police. The good news is motorcycle fatalities decreased 15.5 percent – from 103 to 87. The bad news is 87 fatalities is the second-highest total recorded in the last 12 years. Furthermore, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2005, 27 percent of all fatally injured motorcycle operators had BAC levels of .08 g/dl. Forty-five percent of fatally injured motorcyclists did not wear helmets. Motorcyclists need to be more responsible with how much alcohol they drink and wearing helmets. Those two irresponsible acts can easily be avoided and help lower fatalities. New Jersey compared with recent national statistics has made some positive strides in reducing motorcycle fatalities but 87 deaths is still too many and we have a long way to go.

Who is at fault for this high number of deaths? Both the motorists and motorcyclists are at fault and need to be careful when sharing the road with each other. Motorists need to make sure they double-check their side and rearview mirrors for motorcycles passing by and motorcyclists need to take higher safety precautions when driving on busy roads.

Furthermore, motorcyclists need to become more aware of highway dangers and avoid making poor decisions. An example of a poor decision would be when there is heavy traffic on the roads so a motorcyclist decides they don’t want to wait in traffic so they drive in between lanes. Let’s say one of the cars decided to make a turn, that would put the motorcyclist in danger and at high speeds could result in a serious injury or even death. Motorcyclists do many things to cause their own danger. Other examples are speeding, making sharp turns, and driving too close to cars. Let’s make a better effort to become more aware of dangers and to make better choices.

While motorists make many mistakes on the road nothing is more deadly then a motorcyclist making a mistake. When driving a motorcycle you need to take extra precautions like driving the speed limit and always being aware of your surroundings.

Motorcycle fatalities have gone down statistically but what can we do to further reduce these incidents of serious motorcycle accidents in New Jersey? One idea is to further educate the public. May is now being recognized as the New Jersey Motorcycle Awareness Month in an effort to remind all motorcyclists and motorists to be responsible when sharing the road. Hopefully education will provide awareness of dangers on the road and what precautions drivers can take. Together we can lower the fatality numbers and make the road a safer place.

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