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Many Motor Vehicle Accidents are Caused by Distracted Drivers

Motor vehicle accidents are an inherent danger in our car-dominant society. The opportunities for collisions are compounded by the number of drivers on the roads and the amount of time that we spend on the roadways. In every generation, public policy tends to focus on particular causes of accidents and remedies designed to make driving safer:

  • Seat belts and front-seat shoulder belts became mandatory equipment in cars sold in the U.S. in 1968. In 1984, the first state laws appeared making seat belt use a requirement.
  • Highways speeds were lowered to 55 in the mid-1970s (largely for the purpose of increasing fuel inefficiency but also reportedly reducing the number of fatal accidents).
  • Cars were required to be manufactured with airbags beginning in the 1990s.
  • Drunk driving prosecutions have increased since the advent of advocacy groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
  • In today’s digitalized world, distracted driving involving cellphones and other mobile devices is under scrutiny. According to current laws in New Jersey, drivers can use only hands-free cellphones while operating motor vehicles.

What Causes Distracted Driving?

If you were seriously injured or if your loved one was killed in a car accident, another driver may be considered negligent if he or she was voluntarily distracted for whatever reason:

  • Engaging in conversations with passengers
  • Fiddling with radio dials or a cigarette lighter
  • Putting on makeup, shaving or otherwise engaging in grooming while driving
  • Reading a map or other written material while driving
  • Texting or emailing

Distracted Drivers May be Held Liable for Your Injuries

If another driver was distracted when a crash occurred that injured you or killed your loved one, your personal injury attorney’s investigation will most likely include a review of cellphone records and email records. Consideration of laws against texting while driving and cellphone use while driving (other than hands-free) may make your injury claim or wrongful death claim more compelling. However, any evidence of preventable distracted driving can strengthen your claim, whether or not there are specific laws targeting a particular distracting activity by drivers.

Britcher, Leone & Sergio, LLC, is a valuable ally for people injured by distracted drivers in New Jersey.

Experienced Attorneys Assisting Victims of Drunk Driving Accidents

New Jersey’s strict laws against drunk driving are a clear indicator of how dangerous our state’s legislature considers drunk driving to be. Nationwide, “70 percent of deaths in drunk driving crashes in 2010 involved drivers with blood alcohol levels that were nearly twice the .08 legal limit,” according to the NHTSA reported the following statistics regarding accidents and drunk drivers in New Jersey for 2008:

  • 154 fatalities with at least one driver testing at a BAC of .08 percent or above
  • 197 total fatalities with at least one driver testing at a BAC of .01 percent or above

New Jersey Drunk Driving Accident Attorneys Offer Information and Counsel

If your husband, wife, son, daughter, mother or father was killed in a drunk driving accident, the loss is absolute. There is no “degree” to your loss. You absolutely did lose your family member in a crash involving another driver who was operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

On the other hand, if you were seriously injured in a truck, motorcycle or car accident involving a drunk driver, statistics such as these may seem irrelevant as you cope with the aftermath of a crash. You may be struggling to deal with the great expenses and losses associated with a burn injury, a brain injury, a spinal cord injury or loss of a loved one in a drunk driving crash.

What is certain is that you need legal help to come to terms with your new stage of life after a disastrous drunk driving accident. The fact that the other driver was drunk at the time of a crash that injured you may strengthen your injury or wrongful death claim. Britcher, Leone & Sergio, LLC, offers no-fee, no-obligation case analyses for drunk driving accident victims.

The Medical and Legal Knowledge to Represent the Full Scope of Your Case

Our team at Britcher, Leone & Sergio, LLC, includes medical and legal professionals who can adeptly address the medical issues involved in your drunk driving accident case, as well as the extensive trial experience of partner E. Drew Britcher, who is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney and has served as counsel of record and/or amicus counsel in more than two dozen reported decisions of the appellate courts in New Jersey. He has been named among Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” among the “Top 10” New Jersey Super Lawyers, and has been given the highest rating of AV by Martindale-Hubbell®.* The selection methodology for each award can be found at the Honors and Awards page HERE, or click on the name of the award to see the selection methodology. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

*The Martindale-Hubbell® AV peer review rating is the highest-rated category an attorney can achieve in the areas of legal skills and ethical standards. AV is a registered certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell® certification procedures, standards and policies.