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

Almost everyone does it. Listening to a ball-by-ball commentary of the game on the radio while driving-we've all been there. However, a new study conducted by British researchers seems to suggest that listening to sports commentary  can be just as much of an accident risk as drunk driving. 

The British researchers looked at motorists driving just around the World Cup and Wimbledon games. The found that when drivers were listening to sports commentary, their reaction times declined by as much as 20%. To put that in perspective, 20% is the drop in reaction time that's typically seen in an intoxicated driver. What that basically means is that your risk of being involved in an accident when you're engrossed in your sports commentary is as high as if you were driving under the influence.

Obviously, as a New Jersey accident lawyer, I find that very discomfiting. There's no way to translate those results yet to American motorists, but I'm willing to bet that you'd probably find the same kind of results here too. Americans are the ultimate sports lovers, and there is very little that delights us more than multitasking, so listening to sports commentary while we are driving, is something we don't think twice about. 

It's important to remember that when you're engrossed in radio sports commentary, you're much less likely to see other motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists around you. You're less likely to hear the horns of motorists around you. You're less likely to make emergency driving decisions in time, and your reaction times are likely to get delayed.

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As a New Jersey car accident lawyer, I have been very supportive of our state’s strong GDL program for teen drivers. As a result of these laws, the state has been able to bring down its teen accident-related injury and fatality rates substantially. A study by the Texas Transportation Institute underscores the need for continued restrictions on teen motorists’ driving privileges.

According to the study, there has been an increase of 10% in the number of fatal night time teen motorist accidents between 1999 and 2008. According to the Texas researchers, this increase is very likely due to the use of cell phones by teen motorists. In 2008, federal transportation authorities recorded a total of 4,322 teen driver-related fatal accidents. Of these, 50% occurred at night. In contrast in 1999, there were 6,368 fatal teen driver-related accidents, and out of these, 45% occurred at night.

Cell phone use is rampant among American teenagers. The practice of texting has taken over the average teen’s life. In fact, it is estimated that American teenagers on an average send or receive more than 2,000 messages every month. Teenagers also tend to have a much higher opinion of their driving skills and abilities to multitask than they deserve to. A teen motorist is much more likely to think that it's safe to text and drive because he is so proficient at using cell phones. This kind of overconfidence can be deadly, as we can see from the increase in fatal teen driver accidents over the past decade.

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

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 Approximately 1/3^rd of all people killed in high-speed pursuit accidents every year are innocent bystanders. That data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,  and is included in a review by USA Today. According to the USA Today report, approximately 350 people are killed every year in these accidents.

Opponents of high-speed police chases say that very often, the people who die in such crashes are killed when police are chasing a suspect for minor infractions. It doesn't make a lot of sense for police to initiate a high-speed chase, especially on New Jersey's congested roads, for minor infractions. However, it has not been that easy to define what a “minor infraction“ is. 

Obviously, the issue raises a lot of uncomfortable questions. For example, what kind of restrictions should be placed on police officers before initiating a chase? There is also the question of how police officers themselves feel about such restrictions. Typically, officers have found the idea of restrictive chase policies, frustrating. There is anxiety that such restrictions could limit their powers to enforce laws.

There is some truth to that. However, the fact that there are 350 people dying every year, is also a cause for concern. There is also the fact that 350 could actually be a conservative estimate, because there is no well-established reporting system for these fatalities. We could be looking at fatality numbers that are up to six times higher than the figures the USA Today report mentions.

These are innocent pedestrians and motorists, whose only fault was that they got caught in a situation not of their making.. Their families are distressed that there are few restrictions on chase policies, and are campaigning for changes in these policies.

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

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The month of May will see two safety campaigns that are especially close to my heart. In May, New Jersey and the rest of the country will mark Motorcycle Safety Month. The other campaign that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is promoting for the month of May, is National Youth Traffic Safety Month.

This year's National Youth Traffic Safety Month is a joint effort in collaboration with the National Organization for Youth Safety. They are a number of events lined up for May, and the NOYS is inviting teen safety groups in New Jersey and around the country to partner with them in their efforts.

Teen motorist safety is an issue that I have a special interest in. As a parent and a New Jersey car accident attorney, I believe that the state should be investing more in teen motorist safety. Not that New Jersey has lagged behind in this area. We have had great success with stricter teen driver laws that have been responsible for a reduction in accident and fatality numbers. We also have a new law that will require young drivers to have an identifying decal pasted on their vehicle. It hasn't been a highly popular law, but I do understand the logic behind it, and support it. In fact, I have blogged about it in the past, and every time, there has been strong reaction from readers who either wholeheartedly support the law, or are strongly opposed to it.

Investing more efforts in teen driver safety is one of the best steps New Jersey officials can take to minimize accident fatality rates further in the years ahead. We have already had dramatic progress in minimizing the numbers of people being killed on New Jersey roadways, and we could do more if we focus harder on developing a generation of teenagers with the right driving skills.

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As a car accident lawyer in New Jersey, I am pleased with some dramatic new advancements in the field of spinal cord injury treatment. Clinical trials into a new robotic exoskeleton that could help patients with these injuries to walk again, are on at a research center in Philadelphia.

The device has been developed by an Israel-based company, and comprises of a harness, backpack and leg supports. The equipment also includes sensors that can detect and communicate to a computer in the backpack that a step needs to be taken. The person can then walk using his crutches.   The device works with the help of a battery that can be charged for three hours of use. However, in order to be able to use the device, a person must have the use of his upper body.

It is hard to overstate the kind of benefits that this exoskeleton can offer to patients with spinal injury who are unable to walk. As a New Jersey car accident lawyer, I often come across victims of serious auto accidents, who have suffered a spinal cord injury.  I know the kind of hardship these people face as they begin to navigate life without the use of their lower limbs. These injuries can often been seen in major, high-impact car accidents, tractor trailer accidents, or as a result of accidents in the workplace. A serious fall can also cause a spinal cord injury. 

If all goes well, the device could be available as quickly as a few months from now.   Once the clinical trials end, the company Argo Medical Technologies, plans to apply to the Food and Drug Administration for approval. If the device is approved, the device will available in New Jersey and nationwide by late 2010. 

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As a New Jersey car accident lawyer, I have been particularly enthused by automakers equipping their vehicles with newer safety technologies that either prevent accidents, or minimize the risk of serious injuries in a crash. It’s also been fantastic to see consumers willing to spend more dollars even in a hard economy, for cars that include these additional features.

That’s why it was so great to read that Ford Motor Company will introduce new inflatable seatbelts in the backseats of Ford Explorers that are due to go into production shortly.  The inflatable seatbelts begin to fill with air at the time of impact, protecting a person from chest, neck and head injuries. The seatbelts will be equipped in the rear seats, protecting these passengers from serious injuries in front and side impact crashes.

Back seat passengers typically have lower seatbelt usage rates than front seat passengers. Ford claims that these inflatable seatbelts are much more comfortable than conventional seatbelts, and this means that inflatable seatbelt systems could actually become popular with backseat passengers and encourage them to buckle up. That’s always good news!  Ford says it will wait for positive reactions from consumers before making the feature standard across all its vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been working to require safety features like electronic stability control systems, to be made standard on all passenger vehicles. For instance, by the year 2012, all passenger vehicles under 10,000 pounds must come equipped with electronic stability control systems as standard equipment. The systems are already in place in many popular models, as are side airbags which protect passengers from serious injuries  in the event of side impact crashes.

The development of safety features like these is one of the reasons why auto accident fatality rates in the US have been declining the way they have.  

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

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We all know that drinking and driving often results in death, serious injury or the destruction of life.  A recent local news story reported an accident in South Jersey recently sent several innocent grocery shoppers to the hospital. A car spun out of control and slammed into 3 people - two of them were in wheelchairs. The police are saying the driver was intoxicated when she crashed into pedestrians on a Shoprite sidewalk in front of the store.

 As a Monmouth County and New Jersey car accident attorney I have represented hundreds of victims that suffered critical injuries because of alcohol related car accidents.  This news story above highlights a all too common scenario whereby alcohol appears to have impaired this driver’s sense of judgment. The alleged intoxicated driver may have destroyed the lives of these innocent grocery shoppers who never would have imagined that they would fall victim to a drunk driver while going through their normal every day routine of pushing their grocery carts at their local supermarket.  Drinking and driving frequently leads to victim's extreme suffering.  I have witnessed first hand clients that have suffered at the hands of drunk drivers’ : traumatic brain injury, loss of limbs, spinal cord injuries including paralysis fractures, herniated disc injuries leading to spinal fusion or inter-body fusion surgery and a myriad of other life altering injuries and even death.  So as a seasoned New Jersey and Monmouth County accident attorney lawyer I can attest unequivocally that alcohol mixed with driving of motor vehicles, motorcycles or trucks many times equates with the total destruction of innocent life and also destroys both individuals and their families.  We can significantly reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities in New Jersey by never ever driving while intoxicated or in any way impaired.  

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