Partner
Earlier this year, the New Jersey Department of Transportation issued its findings with regard to 2012 municipal road vehicle crash data. Thankfully, the number of total fatal crashes was reduced from 106 in 2011 to 97, however New Jerseyans reported nearly 80,000 total vehicle crashes, which may seem alarming before you consider its total population exceeds 8 million residents. If you are one of the 80,000 New Jersey inhabitants having experienced a motor vehicle accident in 2012, a personal injury attorney can assist you in preparing a lawsuit for damages.
Statistics Reveal Trends in NJ Motor Vehicle Accidents
Over 16,000 accidents in 2012 involved some form of bodily injury. Despite what many people believe, the overwhelming number of accidents did not occur at an intersection, with only 34 percent of collisions occurring at intersections – the vast majority of which were unsignaled. With regard to the type of accident involved, the following represent the highest instances of certain situations:
Collisions with parked vehicles – 25%
Collisions occurring at an angle with the other vehicle – 17.8%
Rear-end collisions – 15%
Collisions with a fixed object – 11.5%
Sideswipes – 9.8%
Reversing into an object or vehicle – 7.7%
Head-On collisions – 3%
Collisions with a pedestrian – 3%
The report also reveals interesting trends with regard to weather patterns during accidents as over 81% of reported collisions occurred on a dry surface. Snow and ice attributed to approximately 2.5% of accidents and rain or melted snow contributed to 15.2% of mishaps.
Handheld Devices and Accidents in New Jersey
As any personal injury attorney can attest, handheld devices, including cellular phones and tablets, have proven to be an increasingly serious problem over the past ten years. In 2012, six people were killed and nearly 900 were injured in accidents involving hand-held devices. If you were recently in an accident and believe the use of a device may be to blame, your personal injury attorney may be able to subpoena phone records and determine whether the other driver was, in fact, using his device in the moments prior to the crash. Evidence of cell phone use while driving, resulting in injury, is extremely helpful in establishing liability based on negligence.