Jersey City Car Accident Lawyers

In Jersey City, distracted driving is a serious concern. Engaging in a visual-manual subtask, like texting, dialing, or even reaching for a phone, makes a car accident three times more likely to occur.

Although teenagers tend to engage in distracted driving most often — with one-quarter of teens responding to text messages at least once every time they drive — adults also engage in these behaviors.

Nationwide, 25% of all car accidents involve drivers using a cell phone, but anything that takes your eyes off the road can distract you. Eating, turning to speak to someone in the back seat, smoking, and even listening to music make you more likely to get into an accident in Jersey City.

Drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol are the leading cause of car accidents in New Jersey, surpassing even distracted driving.

Being under the influence affects your brain function, impacting your vision and hearing while making you less coordinated. Your reaction times are also slower, so you’ll struggle to respond appropriately to changes on the road.

Throughout the country, the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit is 0.08%. The BAC level is the percentage of alcohol in your blood, and it’s the most common way of measuring levels of intoxication.

Even if your BAC level is below 0.08%, you can still be impaired, with decreased multitasking and visual function. Having a single drink can put you and others on the road at risk.

The faster a car goes, the less time the driver has to react to anything that changes on the road. If there is a collision of any kind, speeding puts much more force on the human body, resulting in worse injuries and a higher risk of fatalities.

Speeding is a calculated and deliberate choice the driver makes that puts everyone around them, including themselves, in danger. Most people understand that going at 120 miles per hour is dangerous, but it’s just as important to know that increasing your speed by even just five miles per hour in the wrong place can put you at serious risk.

Speed limits are not randomly selected numbers; instead, they have been carefully calculated by federal, state, and local governments. Not adhering to speed limits is a problem that continues to cause fatalities every day around the country.

Drowsy driving, also called driver fatigue, is when someone drives while they are sleepy or tired. Drowsy drivers aren’t able to perceive or react to dangers on the road quickly enough. In some instances, drivers can even fall asleep behind the wheel and lose control of the car.

Just a few seconds of being a sleep puts you at risk of being involved in a serious and life-threatening car accident. Driver fatigue can present with many symptoms, including:

• Boredom
• Tired eyes
• Yawning
• Restlessness
• Inability to remember directions
• Difficulty concentrating

Anyone who notices one or more of these symptoms should pull over and rest. Most major highways have rest stops to allow you to do this safely.

Reckless driving refers to actions that the driver takes that display a disregard for the rules of the road. Most of the time, reckless driving involves one or more traffic violations that are not, on their own, considered reckless. They become so if there are aggravating circumstances, like pedestrian traffic or visibility issues on the road.

The most common reckless driving acts are:

• Tailgating
• Drinking and driving
• Distracted driving
• Running stop signs
• Running red lights
• Suddenly braking
• Driving without headlights
• Improper turns

Speeding on its own can be considered reckless driving if road visibility is poor, the width and surface of the road make speeding more dangerous, and many other factors. Teenagers are typically more likely to engage in these behaviors, but anyone can be charged with reckless driving.

Tailgating contributes to a number of car accidents in Jersey City. Tailgating refers to when a driver follows the car in front too closely. This decreases the amount of time that the driver has to react, potentially leading to rear-ending the car in front.

Tailgating can also be a sign of aggressive driving and road rage. Someone who has road rage can be as dangerous as someone who is intoxicated.

Roads that are in poor condition make car accidents more likely to happen. Potholes are a serious concern. They form when the top layer of asphalt wears away and exposes the concrete base.

Potholes put a lot of strain on a car’s shocks and suspension, potentially leading to extensive damage. If the pothole is deep enough, it may cause a driver to lose control of their car and suffer an accident.

Roads in poor condition can also make blowing out a tire more likely because the surface of the road wears away at the rubber. Having a tire blowout if you’re on the highway or other roadways where the speed limit is higher puts you in danger of losing control of the car.

In all of New Jersey, including the Jersey City area, traffic congestion is a problem. With more drivers on the road, getting anywhere takes time and requires patience.

In such conditions, people may be more likely to act aggressively out of frustration. More time spent out on the roads also increases distractions and mental fatigue.