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 pedestrian accident lawyer, I regularly monitor pedestrian and auto safety issues that affect our state. A new report by Tri-State Transportation Campaign outlines the most dangerous roads for pedestrians in New Jersey. Two of these wind though Ocean County, while one each winds through Monmouth County and Bergen County. 

According to the analysis, the most dangerous roads in our state are

• US 130 or the Burlington Pike in Burlington County with 9 fatalities in pedestrian accidents between 2006 and 2008
• US 30 Atlantic County, US 1 Middlesex County, route 549 and US 9 in Ocean County and US 1 in Ocean County with 7 fatalities each
• US 322 in Atlantic County and US 9 in Middlesex County with 6 fatalities each
• Route 4 in Bergen County, McCarter highway SR 21 in Essex County, US 9 in Monmouth County, US 46 in Morris County, St Georges Avenue and SR28 in Essex County with 5 fatalities each
• Route 1 and route 9 seem to be the most dangerous for pedestrians.  Route 1 stretching across Middlesex County and Union County accounted for 14 fatalities in all between 2006 and 2008. Route 9 stretching across Ocean, Middlesex and Monmouth Counties saw 17 fatalities during the same period

The New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety is pointing to a number of factors responsible for the high pedestrian fatalities on some of these roads.

• Lack of crosswalks for pedestrians
• Poor design and planning that doesn’t include pedestrian amenities, and contributes to unsafe walking and crossing practices
• Failure of motorists to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
• Pedestrians walking under the influence of alcohol

The group hopes that the new administration will use the report to make decisions on pedestrian safety infrastructure.

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

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

As a New Jersey pedestrian accident lawyer, I have been expressing my concern over the number of people dying in such crashes, regularly on this blog. Earlier in September, one more such accident killed a pedestrian and injured two others, in Jackson Township in Ocean County.

According to the NJ Ledger, the three pedestrians were crossing the street at night, when they were struck by a car. Authorities say two of them were minors. The three pedestrians were rushed to the hospital, where one of the succumbed to his injuries. No arrests have been made as yet.

It’s too early to say what cause the pedestrian accident. However, motorists must be especially careful while driving at night, when it can be harder to spot a pedestrian even at a crosswalk.

JacksonTownship Accident Fatalities on the Rise

Overall however, accident fatality statistics for Jackson Township present a grim picture. According to New Jersey State Police statistics (via Jackson NJ Online), Jackson Township ranked second among Ocean County municipalities in accident fatalities in 2009. There were four accident fatalities here in the first eight months of 2009. Jackson Township was just behind Brick Township which had 5 fatalities. It shared second spot on the list with Tom’s River, which also had four fatalities in accidents this year. Lacey and Stafford had three fatalities each, while Manchester, Lakewood and Point Pleasant had two fatalities each this year.

These are not the final statistics, and are subject to change until the cases are resolved. They are also much lower than the 2007 statistics. However, we still have several major holidays coming up in the remainder of 2009, including Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Eve when we can expect a spike in accidents.

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

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Monmouth County investigators have zeroed in on the driver of the box truck that allegedly struck and killed a 59-year-old man last week.

The body of Thomas Kovacs was found on route 33 last week. He lived at a residential care facility in the area. Investigators from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, who evaluated the debris at the site of the accident, were able to determine that the vehicle that struck and killed Kovacs, was a box truck. They were also able to pinpoint the kind of damage that the box truck might have sustained in the crash. The truck was found this week in a commercial parking lot in Freehold Township. The driver of the box truck, Dinesh Kumar Patel has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident.  

Very often, tracing the driver in a hit and run pedestrian accident can be hard. There may be no witnesses at the scene. Even if there are witnesses, they may not have been able to note down enough details like the color and model of the car, the appearance of the driver, and the license plate number. Without these important details, investigators find it hard to trace a suspect. Eric Kerecman, who is the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office detective, was assigned the task of finding the hit and run driver here. He deserves kudos for the excellent job he has done, and the speed with which he has nabbed Patel.

Last week, I expressed concern at the high rate of pedestrian accidents in New Jersey this year. So far, in the first 8 months of 2009 alone, we have lost 103 pedestrians in accidents. These numbers are higher than they were at the same time last year. New Jersey authorities have been implementing a decoy program to catch crosswalk violators red-handed. Enforcement is very important, but there also needs to be greater awareness of the rights of pedestrians.

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

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Fatality rates in pedestrian accidents in New Jersey have increased alarmingly, and the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety has moved in quickly to act.

Several communities in the state that have recorded an unacceptable increase in pedestrian accident deaths, are seeing enforcement activities to enforce the rules and prevent such accidents. Earlier this month, 17 police agencies in Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Camden, Cumberland and Gloucester Counties have received funding for the program that will run through September 13^th. The program involves plainclothes officers stationed at crosswalks looking for motorists who fail to yield. Motorists who disregard the rights of pedestrians at a crosswalk could face tickets from uniformed officers, who will be just a short distance away. A motorist could be fined $100 besides court costs.

Across the state, pedestrian accident fatalities have increased after a couple of years when there were lower fatalities. In 2006, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety initiated the pedestrian decoy program, aimed at lowering the number of deaths in these accidents by making motorists aware of their duties. That year, there were 164 pedestrian accident deaths.  In 2007, that number dropped to 150, dropping to a further 138 in 2008. However, this year began with a high number of pedestrian accident deaths right from the start, and these numbers continue to rise. So far this year, there have been 103 pedestrian deaths out of a total of 344 car accidents.  Between January and August last year, the number of pedestrian deaths were dramatically lower at 79.

It’s been difficult to understand what has caused the sudden spike in pedestrian fatalities. However, in New Jersey, we have unique challenges in keeping pedestrians safer. We have far too many people packed into a smaller geographical area, and there are too many cars and pedestrians jostling for limited space. There are also increasing numbers of New Jerseyans who are choosing to walk everywhere, rather than using their cars. As a Bergen County pedestrian accident lawyer, I firmly believe that walking on New Jersey streets should not have to be a death-defying stunt for our pedestrians. The fact is that a lot of these accidents can be prevented if motorists would just exercise some patience near a crosswalk.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Jersey City authorities have been outraged after a 51-year-old pedestrian was severely injured in an accident involving a pickup truck driver who then proceeded to simply travel right on as if nothing had happened. The driver has now been arrested.

Surveillance video released last week shows 51-year-old Ricardo Torres walking on a crosswalk, and being struck by a black Ford pickup truck. The truck then traveled right on, as Jersey City Mayor Jeremiah Healy put it "as if he ran over a rat or something". Torres had the right of way at the time of the crash. Now, Jersey City Police say they have arrested a suspect. Police have arrested 19-year-old Bayonne resident Anthony J. Pane, and have charged him with assault by vehicle, leaving the scene of the accident and endangering an injured victim.

<

Jersey City Police had earlier determined that the hit and run truck had been traveling at 35 to 40mph in a 25mph zone. Witnesses have claimed that the pickup truck had swerved either to dislodge the body or avoid running over him again before driving off.  According to police chief Thomas Comey, it was the third such hit and run accident involving pedestrians in Jersey City this year alone. In the two other cases, the pedestrians died. Torres continues to be in a critical condition and is in a medically induced coma, at a Jersey City hospital.

The accident had sparked impassioned pleas by police and city authorities to the public, asking for cooperation to nab the hit and run driver. As police chief Comey puts it, the victim here was "someone else's loved one, someone else's brother and someone else's father.

On this blog, I have discussed a number of recent New Jersey accidents involving pedestrians who had their right of way violated. To New Jersey personal injury lawyers, it appears that there is an unacceptable level of motorist impatience and callousness where the rights of these pedestrians are concerned. Jersey City police and city authorities have been rightfully outraged at the way pedestrians have been struck fatally or seriously this year, while the drivers have simply driven right on without even stopping to look at the results of their actions.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

In a response to the 11 deaths that occurred in pedestrian accidents in Burlington County this year, the New Jersey Department of Transportation has doled out grants worth $138,000 to the towns of Florence and Riverton to be spent on enhancing pedestrian safety.

Florence is expected to receive $115,000 to be spent on sidewalk construction, while Riverton will use its $23,000 grant to develop and implement a pedestrian safety program. Riverton's grant has come courtesy the Safe Routes to School program that aims to promote pedestrian safety by developing walkways and bikeways so children are encouraged to bike or walk to school in complete safety, as well as the conduction of pedestrian safety awareness programs for children and motorists. The focus on pedestrian safety in Burlington County is due to the 11 deaths that occurred in pedestrian accidents in 2007 last year which was a steep rise from the 6 pedestrian deaths that had occurred in the county in 2006.

Pedestrian accidents are often the result of motorists' negligence. They occur when a motorist fails to give right of way to pedestrians, runs red lights, drives recklessly or speeds. Negligent driving can include making wrong turns, or failing to signal. Sometimes, aggressive driving or road rage can leave innocent pedestrians unwitting victims. Besides motorist fault, the design and maintenance of the roads can catch unwitting pedestrian unawares. Many pedestrian accidents occur as a result of poorly designed and maintained intersections that increases the likelihood of a crash. Improper traffic signs and controls, and the lack of properly defined and adequate sidewalks can also cause accidents that leave pedestrians with severe injuries. In an overwhelming majority of pedestrian accidents involving fatalities, it's the pedestrian who sustains fatal injures, often thrown off tens of feet into the air to be tossed down onto the ground with bone shattering impact. Injuries in a pedestrian accident are almost always serious in nature, and include head injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries.

In the event of an accident, it's important to contact a New Jersey pedestrian accident attorney as quickly as possible, so independent investigations into the cause of the accident can begin immediately. Your lawyer will have to find witnesses who can help prove your account of the accident, and there will have to be studies made of the accident area to check if the design promoted pedestrian safety, if there had been previous accidents in the area etc. If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident, contact a New Jersey pedestrian accident lawyer at the Law offices of Scott Grossman for a free initial evaluation of your case.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks