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

Motorcycle helmets save lives. That's a simple, indisputable fact. Wearing a motorcycle helmet can reduce a riders’ chance of suffering a brain injury, which can be severely injurious, or even fatal. However, it's equally important that motorcyclists wear a strong helmet that can actually prevent a head injury during impact.

This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered a Florida-based motorcycle helmet manufacturer to stop production of helmets immediately. That order came because the company failed to conduct at least three safety recalls properly. The first recall was initiated in 2005, after it was found that the company had failed to meet federal safety regulations. The company was supposed to modify the helmets, and even attempted to do so, but even the modified helmets did not meet standards. Finally, the NHTSA took the dramatic step of ordering the company, Florida-based Advanced Carbon Composites, to stop immediate production and sales of helmets.

Obviously, a defective helmet with no puncture resistance - which was the main problem with the helmets manufactured by Advanced Carbon Composites - offers little protection to a motorcyclist. Fortunately, the detective helmets will be off the market now. It's doubtful that every motorcyclist is going to monitor recalls related to safety gear, and the risk of motorcyclists wearing these helmets and getting injured, was quite high.

As a New Jersey motorcycle accident attorney, I would advise every motorcyclist to never break the helmet rule. The helmet is just about the only piece of protection you have, and can protect you from catastrophic injuries that can severely impact your life. Studies conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have determined that wearing a helmet can dramatically reduce the chances of suffering a serious brain injury or dying, in a crash.

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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 New Jersey husband and wife, who were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident they blame on a young driver texting at the wheel, are calling for stricter punishments for those who indulge in such distracted driving.

Linda and David Kubert were motorcycling in Morris County when they were struck by a pickup truck. The Kuberts say they saw the driver of the pickup truck using his cell phone at the time of the crash. The two were seriously injured in the motorcycle accident. Both lost a leg each. The 18 year old driver meanwhile, got away with a slap on the wrist. He received three tickets - for using a handheld cell phone, careless driving and making an unsafe lane change.

The Kuberts have now begun a campaign to strengthen penalties for drivers who use hand held cell phones while driving.  They say they are extremely distressed about the light punishments handed out to motorists, who think nothing of carrying out text conversations while driving.

Kubert has written to State Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney, and is planning to write to more legislators to pressure them to increase penalties on drivers who violate the texting ban. The $100 fine that motorists can now expect if they use a handheld phone behind the wheel, is not enough of a deterrent, the Kuberts believe.

As a New Jersey motorcycle accident lawyer, who would like to see harsher penalties for texting while driving, I agree. There is very little point in having laws with no bite. A hundred dollars is not much of a penalty when you consider what the Kuberts have lost. Currently, Utah has something approaching harsh penalties for texting drivers - 3 months in jail and up to $750 in fines. We need to have similar deterrents in New Jersey.

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A jury in Monmouth County has found a Marlboro man guilty in a fatal alcohol-related motorcycle accident that occurred in 2007.  John Lombardo Jr. was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.

Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci Jr cited Lombardo’s prior record for ordering that his bail be increased to $250,000. Lombardo has one previous drunk driving conviction, besides two other convictions for reckless driving and two convictions for drug possession. On the 22^nd of March, Lombardo was again cited by Brick Township police for driving under a suspended license. The judge also frowned on Lombardo’s attempts to name-drop his way out of trouble. On the night of the accident in which Lombardo struck a motorcycle carrying 39-year-old Teresa Kling and her fiancé Michael Crowell, Lombardo told the police officer who pulled him over, about friends he had in law enforcement.

Kling sustained fatal injuries in the crash. Lombardo was found two miles away from the accident scene, and forensic evidence showed that his pickup tuck had come in contact with the motorcycle Kling and Crowell were riding on. When blood alcohol tests were conducted, they revealed a blood alcohol level of .19 percent.   

Earlier this month, I discussed the decline in alcohol-related car accident fatalities across the country, including in New Jersey. Those trends have been seen for several years now. Tougher laws against drunk drivers, stronger prosecution, and enhanced use of awareness campaigns have reduced our tolerance of drunk drivers, and brought down the number of fatalities in accidents involving these motorists. New Jersey personal injury lawyers, I'd like to believe, have done their bit to hold such reckless motorists accountable in a civil court.

When I come across cases like this however, it becomes clear that we still have a long way to go.

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Two separate motorcycle accidents in New Jersey last week killed one person, and left another rider seriously injured.

A Lincoln Park man was killed in a motorcycle accident with a mini van earlier this week. The victim's 2006 Yamaha crashed into a mini van that was exiting a driveway. The occupants of the mini van, including three children below the age of three, did not sustain injuries in the accident. The motorcyclist was declared dead at the scene. According to the Passaic County prosecutor’s office, initial investigations don’t seem to suggest any signs of negligence. Blood alcohol tests have been conducted, and so far, there is no reason to believe that alcohol or drugs were involved.

In the second accident, a motorcyclist was seriously injured in an accident in Warren County. The motorcyclist was going down a steep grade and trying to make a left curve, but crashed into a guardrail. He was ejected from the motorcycle, and suffered serious injuries. 

Earlier this month, I discussed the annual NHTSA report on accident fatalities. The results show an overall decline in the number of accident-related fatalities across all states in the country. Fatality rates across all categories of accidents have decreased, with the exception of motorcycle accidents. While drunk driving and speeding-related accidents and even pedestrian accident fatalities have dropped in 2008, the rates for motorcycle fatalities have actually increased as they have for the past 11 years.

In New Jersey, there were a total of 82 motorcycle accident-related fatalities in 2008. That was down three fatalities from 2007 when it was 85. While ours is one of the few states that have actually seen a decline in motorcycle accident fatalities, those numbers are still too high for comfort.

The NHTSA reported a few years ago about a slow, but steady increase in motorcycle registrations nationwide. That means that there are more motorcycles now competing for space with vehicle on our roads.  While automobile accidents are constantly the focus of enforcements, motorcyclists seem to have lesser attention focused on their safety.

Scott Grossman is a Passaic County motorcycle accident lawyer representing victims of automobile and motorcycle accidents in Passaic, Haledon, Totowa, Clifton, Little Falls, North Haledon, Paterson and other cities of Passaic County.

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Motorcycle accidents and related fatalities and traumatic injuries is a serous problem in both New Jersey and our neighboring states. A recent article from The Express-Times reports a 27 year old was recently riding his motorcycle south on Route 611 about 2 a.m. when he veered into the northbound lane and crashed into a curb apparently suffering serious injuries. The police do not know what caused the rider to crash into the curb and the crash is under investigation.

 As Monmouth County and New Jersey motorcycle accident attorney I have witnessed first hand the devastating life altering effects of motorcycle crashes. In this particular situation there could be many factors that made the rider swerve into the opposite lane leading him to strike the curb. What ever the cause of the accident may be, drivers on the road have to make sure they are careful around motorcycle riders. A simple act of having your high beams on can blind a driver and when the driver is a motorcycle rider they can more easily lose control and crash. One way to simply lower the motorcycle fatalities is to always keep a safe distance between your vehicle and the motorcycle and always proceed with caution before entering into a turn or a lane change. Motor vehicle drivers can do their part by being more responsible on the road and hopefully motorcycle riders will do their part by taking the right safety precautions.

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