As much as I enjoy my work as a personal injury attorney, advocating on behalf of people who have suffered serious injuries, I am also saddened every time I get a new client, because it means someone has suffered a serious injury.
I offer the following safe driving tips in the hopes that they will remind you and your family how to stay safe on New Jersey and Pennsylvania roads, to minimize your chances of a car accident and thus minimize your need to hire a personal injury attorney.*
- Don’t drink or use drugs and drive.
Despite decades of public education and toughened consequences for drunk drivers, almost one-third of fatal car accidents in New Jersey have alcohol or drug use as the major contributing factor. - Don’t use your phone while you drive.
Statisticians have difficulty separating cell phone use from other accident causes, but it is enough to know that drivers who use phones or other handheld devices are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.** - Don’t speed.
After alcohol (and possibly texting while driving), speeding is the biggest cause of New Jersey car accidents. Twenty percent of fatal crashes in 2011 involved unsafe speed. - Maintain a safe following distance.
Sudden stops cause car accidents. The best way to prevent a rear-end car accident is by maintaining a safe following distance. The New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles suggests a three-car-length distance while traveling at highway speed. - Be careful at intersections.
About 20 percent of fatal car accidents in New Jersey in 2011 occurred in intersections.
Regardless of Fault, Talk to an Experienced New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer After an Accident
Contact the Law Offices of Michael J. Dennin for a free and confidential consultation. I represent accident victims in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We routinely appear in Court in Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Mercer, Atlantic, and Salem Counties. Call or text Mr. Dennin directly at 1 (856) 577-9138 for free legal advice.
*Unless noted, statistics from 2011 New Jersey State Police Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash Report.
**Monash University study, 2006
