Speeding-Related Injury Lawyers in Lawrence, Hamilton, Trenton, Princeton, and Mercer County, NJ
Everyone has sped before. You’re running late to pick up a friend or family member from the train station, and you know you won’t make it on time without driving over the speed limit. By speeding, you put yourself in a precarious position by making an accident a much greater possibility. The majority of the time, a speeding accident affects other drivers. No matter who causes the collision, speeding accidents are a serious issue.
Speeding: The Real Definition
Speeding is driving faster than the set speed limit. It isn’t going as fast as you can “handle.” The Department of Transportation bases the speed limit on highways and country roads according to the amount of traffic, the width of the lanes, and visibility around curves and hills. The second part of speeding is the relative speed you must use in inclement weather. That speed is not a set value, however, were you to have an accident, you could be found responsible for driving too fast in the winter snow or summer deluge.
Speeding by the Numbers in New Jersey
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an accident is speeding-related if any participant in the accident was sanctioned for a speeding-related action or if a police officer determined the cause of the accident was driving too fast than the posted speed limit or exceeding a prudent speed under road conditions.
In 2020, there were 550 accidents and 587 fatalities instead of 555 casualties and 512 accidents in 2019. Despite there being fewer drivers on the roads, police speculate that due to the pandemic, because the streets were less populated, drivers took advantage of the opportunity to drive faster. Unfortunately, they were remiss in remembering that the quicker you go, the less control you have, not just because of physics but because a car built for 70mph does not handle well at 90mph no matter how high the speedometer goes. Speeding almost triples the possibility you will be in an accident.
It is challenging to tabulate accidents caused by speeding because, many times, speeding is only a partial cause of an accident; distracted driving, road rage, reckless driving, and DWI can all be contributory factors.
It is clear which counties in New Jersey have the most speeding accidents. Essex, Bergen, and Middlesex counties in 2018 all had approximately 30,000 accidents which is a striking difference from Hudson, Passaic, and Union counties, with an average of 19,537.
Typical Injuries Associated With Speeding Crashes
Those in a speeding accident have much more severe injuries than many other kinds of accidents. Frequently, the injuries sustained in a speeding accident are related to the use (or lack thereof) of a seatbelt. A study was done at Berkley University in 2016, and it demonstrated that drivers who typically drove above the speed limit by five mph or more chose not to wear a seatbelt. The study did not answer the obvious question about why their attitudes were reckless.
Injuries caused by speeding accidents are cervical strain or fracture, back sprain, whiplash, spinal cord damage/paralysis (partial or complete), lacerations, bone fractures (sometimes exposed), soft tissue injuries, crush injuries, amputations, TBI (traumatic brain injury), skull fracture and edema.
Top Speeding Accident Triggers in NJ
The most common reason drivers speed is that they are late for work, a meeting, their children’s piano recital, a date, and any reason to justify more miles per hour than is permitted. Sometimes, drivers don’t realize how fast they are going because they are distracted or trying to keep up with traffic. Aggressive driving (road rage) is a dangerous reason to speed because frequently, there is reckless driving along with speeding.
Speeding and Proving Liability, How to Manage It?
Proving liability is not easy. You have to show negligence on the other driver’s part, and that negligence is what caused your injuries or the death of your passenger(s).
An accident reconstructionist can set up a picture of how the accident occurred to help you prove the other driver’s liability and responsibility. Different ways to do this are getting the accident report. Hopefully, the police officer’s opinion on whether one driver was speeding and the other driver was given a speeding ticket. Your lawyer can conduct an independent investigation.
Risk Factors Associated With Speeding in Trenton, NJ
Studies show that gender and age influence the possibility of driving in a fatal speed-related accident; over one-third of young male drivers whose fatal accidents were going too fast. Males from 15 to 24 years of age are 42% more likely than females to have a deadly speed-related crash.
As mentioned previously, speeding is typically linked with other careless driving habits such as road rage, DUI, reckless driving, distracted driving, running red lights, or street racing. Drivers under the influence are four times as likely to speed and have more than double the chance of being involved in a fatal accident.
Decisive Steps Following a Speeding Accident
First, you want to make sure that no one is seriously injured. If at all possible, do not move anyone who is hurt. If they have a spinal or cervical injury, you could aggravate it. Then, call the police. Next, move your vehicle out of the road if you can. If not, go to the side of the road and wait for help to arrive. Take pictures with your cell phone and take notes of possible witness information and the driver’s information. Next, do not talk about who was at fault. Then you should call a tow truck and your insurance company and go immediately to your doctor or the hospital.
Connect With Our Mercer County Speeding Accident Lawyers to Safely Drive You Through the Legal Process
If you or a loved one have been involved in a speeding accident, you need a special kind of lawyer who has seen many cases such as these. You need someone who knows how to negotiate with the insurance company and is prepared to litigate if necessary. Your injuries are the result of a driver who was speeding and reckless. You deserve to be compensated.
At Kamensky, Cohen, & Richelson, our goal is to fight for your rights and get everything you deserve to heal and become whole again. If you, unfortunately, lost someone in the accident, someone has to answer for that loss of life. Let us be the ones to help you put your life back together. Our lawyers have dealt with these types of claims for clients in Ewing, Mount Holly, Burlington, Edison, Titusville, Princeton, and towns in towns in Mercer and Middlesex Counties, NJ.
Call our Hamilton offices at (609) 528-5926 or look us up online to make a free, confidential consultation. Our biggest concern is helping you gain the compensation you need to help you recover from your physical and emotional losses.
