A new pedestrian law that went into effect on the 1^st April, promises to reduce accident fatalities in New Jersey. With New Jersey accounting for some of the highest numbers of pedestrian accident fatalities in the country, I hope the law will help minimize those rates.

In 2008, 27% of all traffic accident fatalities in New Jersey were pedestrians. Last year, there was a substantial drop in the number of traffic accident fatalities in New Jersey, as in the rest of the country, but the number of pedestrian deaths has actually increased. According to the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, since 2004, there have been approximately 150 pedestrian deaths annually on New Jersey streets. In 2009, 159 pedestrians died in accidents in our state.

The new law will require that motorists nearing a crosswalk stop as soon as a pedestrian enters the crosswalk. Motorists who violate the new law, will face a strict $200 fine, and will receive two points on their driver's license. The earlier law required that motorists yield to pedestrians. The word “yield” seems to have been too ambiguous for motorists in New Jersey, and this has contributed to a high number of pedestrian accident fatalities in our state.

I'm willing to bet many motorists in New Jersey are unaware of the law. In order to deal with this, law enforcement officers will be increasing enforcement over the next few weeks. Initially, motorists will be given a warning card explaining the new laws to them.

Of course, the new law does not mean that pedestrians can be blasé about their safety. I would advise all pedestrians in New Jersey to be alert at all times to their surroundings, avoid distractions like talking on the cell phone or listening to the iPod. Any activity that takes your attention away from the road can be a risk to your safety.

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

The New York Times report includes a survey that a research team at the Ohio State University conducted into the risks of distractions in pedestrians. The study found that in 2008, more than 1,000 pedestrians suffered injuries in accidents caused by text messaging or talking on the cell phone while walking.  The survey found that young pedestrians were more likely to be injured because of such distractions, with 50 percent of injuries resulting in emergency room visits occurring in people under the age of 30. At least 25 percent of emergency room visits from cell phone use-related accidents were pedestrians between 16 and 20 years old. However, a quarter of the pedestrians who were injured were between 41 and 60 years. This means that it’s not just young pedestrians who are more likely to run into stationary objects, fall into potholes, trip over sidewalks or suffer other accidents because of distractions. 

This seems to indicate that merely having a conversation - as the students walking in pairs were doing - is not the main cause of inattentiveness. Talking on a cell phone likely produces mental images that are connected to the conversation the person is having, and these images likely inhibit the mind’s ability to process real life images.

Scott Grossman is a Monmouth County auto accident lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents in Freehold, Marlboro, Aberdeen, Howell, and across Monmouth County.

• 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.