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

As a personal injury lawyer serving victims in Ocean County, I noted with dismay that the county has earned for itself the distinction of the most dangerous place for drivers in New Jersey. New Jersey state police has released its auto accident fatality data for 2009. Out of a total of 589 accident fatalities in New Jersey last year, 64 occurred in Ocean County.

Second place went to Burlington and Middlesex Counties with 48 fatalities each last year. As an Ocean County auto accident lawyer I can’t help but notice the wide gap in fatality numbers between Ocean County and the two counties that occupy second place on the list.

Other statistics from the report:

• In Monmouth County, there were 34 fatalities in a total of 34 accidents.
• Bergen County had a total 26 fatalities in a total of 25 accidents
• In Passaic County, there were 27 fatalities in 24 auto accidents.
• Monmouth and Passaic counties round out the top 10 counties by fatality counts with the others being Atlantic, Essex , Camden, Union and Cumberland Counties.
• In Ocean County, Toms River is the deadliest with 10 fatalities followed by Jackson Township, with 9, Brick Township with 7, Lacey with 6 and Lakewood with 5.
• In Monmouth county, fatalities were distributed evenly across townships.
• In Bergen County, there were 2 fatalities in Palisades Park Boro, while other areas recorded one fatality each.
• In Passaic County, there were two fatalities in West Milford Township, Paterson City and Passaic City with the remaining accounting for 1 fatality each.

• 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

The crash risks of cell phone use behind the wheel are well known, and now, one federal agency has decided to set an example for the rest of us by imposing a ban on all cell phone use behind the wheel, on its employees.

National Transportation Safety Board employees are now banned from using cell phones and other wireless devices while driving. The new chairwoman of the NTSB announced the ban under which employees are prohibited from using all kinds of cell phones, including hands-free devices, behind the wheel. The approximately 400 employees, as well as board members of the NTSB, will be prohibited from texting or talking on agency-issued phones while driving on duty, as well as during off hours. The NTSB is now the first federal agency to have such a ban in place.

As a New Jersey personal injury lawyer, I have always believed that we need stronger laws to prevent the kinds of accidents that occur because drivers are too distracted by their cell phones. While the state of New Jersey itself has a ban on handheld devices, it has been clear to personal injury lawyers and safety advocates who care passionately about auto safety, that the laws don’t go as far as they need to. We have heard from the National Safety Council that cell phone use of any kind behind the wheel is dangerous. However, no state has acted to completely ban cell phones behind the wheel. Seven states including New Jersey, ban handheld devices, while other states ban cell phones for some groups of motorists, like teen motorists or school bus drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver distractions are a factor in approximately 30 percent of all traffic accidents. Cell phone use has quickly become the number one distraction that motorists face.

It doesn’t take super smarts to understand that you can’t be talking on the cell phone and concentrating on the road at the same time. No matter how expert a driver you are, carrying on a conversation even on a hands free set is enough of a distraction to cause an accident.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

You don’t have to convince New Jerseyans about the importance of wearing seatbelts to prevent life-threatening injuries and fatalities in an accident. In 2009, 92.67 percent of front seat passengers in the state buckled up, which was an increase of last year's rate of 91.7 percent. Those rates have been steadily climbing over the past 13 years. According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology which conducted the survey that revealed those high seatbelt usage rates, that is an increase of more than 79,000 people in our state who cared to buckle up this year compared to 2008.   

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that an increase of .92 percent in front seatbelt use can prevent up to 7 accident-related deaths, 206 serious injures and more than 150 minor injuries. It can also save the state close to $50 million in accident-related economic costs.

The five counties with the highest seatbelt usage rates this year are Mercer County with a rate of 94.53 percent, followed by Bergen County with 94.45 percent, Hudson County with93.87 percent, Middlesex County with 93.14 percent and Morris County 93.13 percent.  

Passaic County has increased its seatbelt usage by 4.4 percent to touch 92.66 percent this year.

Ocean County seatbelt usage rates are up by 3.9 percent this year to touch 90.05 percent.

The largest improvement has been made in Hudson County which was up by 5.9 percent to touch 93.87 percent in 2009.

Those numbers are very encouraging, and as a Passaic and Bergen County personal injury lawyer, it's gratifying to see so many motorists in these countries responsible enough to buckle up while driving. However, our state's seatbelt laws don’t make it mandatory for backseat passengers to buckle up. The New Jersey Institute of Technology survey shows that seat belt usage by backseat passengers is very low. Just about 32 percent of adults in back seats bother to buckle up.

Over the past 9 years, 259 backseat passengers who failed to wear seatbelts have died in accidents. According to Pam Fischer, the director of New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, at least 200 of these people would have survived if they were wearing seatbelts. Fischer is urging legislators to support Senate Bill S-18, which would make it mandatory for backseat passengers to buckle up.

At a news conference to bring attention to the bill, Dr Bruce Bonanno who is a doctor at the Bayshore Hospital in Holmdel, spoke about the high number of backseat accident-fatalities he sees. According to Dr Bonanno, there has been a huge decrease in the number of accident-related fatalities over the past couple of decades,  but more lives could be saved if we promote back seat belt usage through the “Click it or Ticket Campaign” that has done so much to raise seat belt usage rates in New Jersey.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks