Philadelphia, PA, USA, 01/21/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/
The New Jersey State Police have bad news for 2016 and a mixed bag of information about 2015’s fatal crashes in the state. The number of traffic fatalities for 2016 increased from 2015 but there were fewer accidents involving distracted drivers in 2015 compared to 2014. Distracted driving was the leading cause of fatal accidents in New Jersey in 2015. New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer Rand Spear warns that distracted driving for only a moment can cause a serious accident.
The preliminary numbers for New Jersey vehicle accidents in 2016 are grim, reports NJ.com1. The State Police released the following preliminary statistics2,
In 2016, 607 people died in vehicle accidents in the state, an 8% increase from 2015 (562).
Last year’s fatalities were the highest since 2011.
2013 saw a 20 year low of traffic fatalities at 542.
As bad as 2016 was, the number of deaths on New Jersey’s roads twenty years ago, in 1996, were far worse at 809.
For 2016,
Of the 607 people killed last year, more than half (333) were drivers, 167 were pedestrians, 89 were passengers and 18 were bicyclists.
Burlington County saw the most fatal crashes, with 50 deaths, followed by Middlesex and Monmouth counties which each had 49 fatalities.
Other statistics released by the state police3, according to NJ.com4, show that, There was a total of 522 fatal crashes killing 562 people in 2015.
That’s one less fatal accident than in 2014 when 556 people were killed.
The number of accidents involving a distracted driver went down from 190 crashes in 2014 to 168 collisions in 2015.
For the sixth straight year distracted driving lead to more fatal crashes than alcohol.
Driving under the influence was involved in 118 accidents killing 132 people.
An American Automobile Association (AAA) survey of 655 New Jersey motorists last year showed:
94% stated they believe other drivers are very or somewhat distracted when they use a hand-held phone or a hands-free device to talk or text
28% admitted to using a hand-held phone while driving, which is illegal in New Jersey, and
50% stated they used a hands-free device to make a call.
Though there was mixed news when it came to distracted driving, there was some good news when it comes to accidents caused by drinking and driving.
There was an 18% percent decrease in the number of alcohol related accidents in 2015 compared to 2014.
One factor may be the increased use of ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft by those who may have planned ahead to use them and understand they shouldn’t drink and drive.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a New Jersey vehicle accident, contact an experienced motor vehicle accident lawyer right away. Your lawyer can answer your questions and help you determine the next steps in your case.
Call Rand Spear New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer today at 888-373-4LAW today to discuss your case with a knowledgeable vehicle accident attorney.
Footnotes:
1 NJ.com www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/01/nj_traffic_fatalities_soared_in_2016.html
2 Preliminary statistics http://www.njsp.org/info/fatalacc/pdf/swfcs2_16.pdf
3 Statistics released by the state police www.njsp.org/info/fatalacc/2015_fatal_crash.pdf
4 NJ.com www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2017/01/distracted_driving_is_top_fatal_crash_factor_in_20.html#incart_river_home
Like Us on Facebook
