New Jersey Tailgating Car Accident Lawyer
When you first learned to drive, you were taught about important safety precautions. One of those precautions was probably avoiding following the driver ahead of you too closely — also known as “tailgating.” The closer you get to a car in front of you, the less reaction time you have to slow or stop when needed.
This means that if a tailgating driver gets distracted even for a second, there’s a good chance they’ll rear-end your vehicle — and a good chance that you’ll be injured. Here’s what to know about tailgating and what to do if you’re hurt in a tailgating accident. Reach out to a New Jersey tailgating car accident lawyer to learn more about your options. Our knowledgeable care accident attorneys are here to help.
What Does It Mean to Tailgate?
Tailgating occurs when a driver follows too closely behind the vehicle in front of them. Some drivers will do this deliberately to intimidate the front driver into going faster. Other drivers accidentally tailgate because they’re distracted. Regardless of the reason, following another vehicle too closely is dangerous.
So how close is too close? The National Safety Council recommends maintaining a three-second following distance. And while you might not be able to stop other drivers from tailgating, you can take steps to make sure you aren’t following another car too closely.
Determining your following distance isn’t hard. While driving, pick out a particular road sign or landmark. When the vehicle in front of you passes the landmark, start counting until your car passes it. If there are at least three full seconds between you and the other vehicle, you’re in the clear. If the time is shorter, that’s your signal to slow down.
Maintaining a safe following distance is an essential part of protecting yourself and others on the road. Even so, it’s also important to pay close attention.
Three seconds will generally give you enough time to stop if needed. But if you’re looking at your phone or are otherwise distracted, there’s still a good chance you could cause an accident.
When you are injured in an accident caused by someone tailgating, our New Jersey attorneys are here to help.
Is Tailgating Illegal?
You might think that tailgating isn’t a big deal. After all, it happens every day on highways across New Jersey and the rest of the country. However, tailgating is a crime in New Jersey. If you’re pulled over and ticketed, you’ll face a fine and have five points taken off of your license.
The New Jersey law on tailgating states that “[t]he driver of a vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard to the speed of the preceding vehicle and the traffic upon, and condition of, the highway.”
Essentially, this means you may not drive unreasonably close to the car in front of you. What constitutes a “reasonable” following distance depends on three factors:
- How fast the car in front of you is going
- Current traffic conditions
- The current condition of the road
For instance, maintaining a following distance that’s a little shorter than three seconds might be acceptable at lower speeds on a sunny, rain-free day. But doing so might not be “reasonable and prudent” while driving through a downpour at night on the highway.
Causes of Tailgating in New Jersey
Most people know that tailgating can be dangerous. So why do they do it? Here are several common reasons why New Jersey drivers choose to tailgate:
Just about every driver has experienced the impatience that comes with running late. When you’re in a hurry, every slow driver in front of you can seem like a major inconvenience.
Impatient drivers aren’t necessarily trying to intimidate other drivers. In many cases, running late or being impatient makes people speed or otherwise drive faster than they normally would.
Unfortunately, tailgating often plays a significant role in road rage incidents. In some cases, instead of changing lanes or otherwise going around the slower vehicle, an aggressive driver will tailgate. The goal is to intimidate the slower driver to get them to speed up or move out of the way.
Distracted driving is always dangerous. Even looking down to grab a drink or taking a second to glance at your phone has the potential to cause an accident — especially at high speeds. If a driver is focused on anything other than the road, they might start to encroach on the driver in front of them.
If you’re behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you can’t think clearly. Even if you try to drive safely, you might find yourself unable to do so.
People under the influence tend to have trouble accurately determining distance and speed, so they may think they’re maintaining a safe following distance when they’re actually dangerously close to the driver in front.
A lawyer in New Jersey could determine the cause of a tailgating crash and hold the negligent driver accountable.
Injuries Commonly Caused by Tailgating Accidents
Despite the laws designed to keep people from engaging in it, tailgating is often an everyday experience. Because it’s so prevalent, it is a contributing factor in many car accidents.
In some cases, these accidents can cause serious injuries. Here are some of the most common injuries that can happen in tailgating accidents. An attorney in New Jersey could account for all injuries and losses in a claim after a tailgating car crash.
Whiplash happens when your head is jolted suddenly forward or backward (like the crack of a whip). It generally heals on its own, but it can be significantly painful.
Technically speaking, whiplash isn’t a single injury — it’s a collection of smaller injuries to the many different structures in your neck. The bones, discs, nerves, muscles, tendons, and ligaments can all be affected.
The “snapping” movement that causes whiplash can also cause injury to other parts of your spine. Lower back injuries happen often, and some of the most common lower back injuries sustained in car accidents are ruptured or herniated discs.
Your vertebrae (the individual bones that make up your spine) are cushioned by tough, fibrous discs. These discs are structured almost like jelly doughnuts; they have a harder exterior and a softer, gel-like interior.
A sudden, severe impact can cause the discs to tear. That injury makes some of the “jelly” at the center stick out. In many cases, it puts pressure on spinal nerves, causing significant pain.
Fractures (broken bones) can also happen as a result of a tailgating accident. The sudden force on your spine might cause one or more vertebrae to break. If you’re thrown forward into the steering wheel, you might suffer a broken sternum.
Some fractures are more severe than others. If a fracture is not displaced (i.e., the bones are still in alignment), it might heal on its own. Compound fractures (where the broken bone breaks the skin) and comminuted fractures (where the bone is broken into at least three pieces and smaller fragments) usually require surgery.
When you hit your head so hard that your brain twists or bounces in your skull, you suffer what’s known as a traumatic brain injury (TBI). While most TBIs are mild, they can still cause physical symptoms and trouble with thinking or remembering but usually resolve on their own. If you’ve ever had a concussion, you’ve had a minor TBI.
More severe TBIs are more likely to have serious, long-term consequences. They might cause permanent damage to the brain, seizures, and brain bleeds.
However, symptoms of similar injuries can look very different from person to person. If you think you have a TBI, it’s important to seek medical care and follow your doctor’s instructions to maximize your chances of recovery.
Your spinal cord is like an information highway that lets your brain communicate with the rest of your body. In tailgating accidents where significant force is involved, your spinal cord might suffer an injury.
Just like TBIs, some spinal cord injuries are more serious than others. The most severe are called “complete” spinal cord injuries. In a complete injury, the spinal cord is fully severed. This means that you have no movement or feeling below the site of the injury. Complete spinal cord injuries lead to paralysis.
With an incomplete spinal cord injury, your spinal cord is damaged but isn’t completely severed. You still maintain some feeling or movement below the site of the injury.
It’s important to note that if you suffer a spinal cord injury, you might not immediately know it. Sometimes, numbness and paralysis happen immediately. But in other cases, it takes a significant amount of time for them to set in.
That’s why it’s so important to seek emergency medical care after a car accident. A medical professional will be able to identify and treat serious injuries, maximizing your chances of a full recovery.
Have You Been Injured in a Tailgating Accident in New Jersey? Call The Attorneys at GGL Today
Being hit by a tailgating driver — even at relatively low speeds — can lead to life-disrupting injuries. And if those injuries were caused by another driver’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated for the losses you’ve suffered. The tailgating car accident lawyers at Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq can help with this.
Our experienced team of personal injury attorneys has been assisting injured people in New Jersey since 1991. In that time, we have recovered more than $1 billion for our injured clients.
If you’ve been hurt by a tailgating driver, the insurance company will often offer you a settlement. Don’t accept the offer. Insurance companies aren’t on your side. Their aim is to pay you as little as possible to settle your claim.
When you have an experienced New Jersey tailgating car accident lawyer on your side, you gain a fierce advocate who will fight to get you the compensation you deserve. If you’ve been hurt in a tailgating accident, fill out our online contact form or give us a call at 800-923-3456 to set up a free consultation.
