Car accidents happen in the New York and New Jersey metro area at an alarming rate. Across the country, literally thousands of people suffer personal injuries every day and more than 80 people are killed in car crashes every day of the year.
In the United States, 32,367 people were killed in 2011 in an estimated 5,338,000 police-reported traffic crashes, 2,217,000 people were injured, and 3,778,000 crashes resulted in property damage only (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, April 2013).
More than 88 people died in car crashes each day in 2011, and more than 6,000 people were injured.
In New York State, 1,153 people were killed in 2011 in 307,550 crashes, 177,445 people were injured, and 178,437 crashes resulted in property damage only (New York State Traffic Safety Data for 2011, October 2012).
Those killed in motor vehicle accidents in New York in 2011 included 597 drivers, 203 passengers, 296 pedestrians and 57 bicyclists. Those injured included 106,335 drivers, 48,677 passengers, 15,689 pedestrians, 5,883 bicyclists and 861 “other” (NY Traffic Safety Data, October 2012).
In New Jersey, out of a total of 294,851 car crashes in 2011, 590 involved fatalities, 64,791 resulted in personal injury, and 188,506 resulted in property damage only (New Jersey Department of Transportation Crash Record Summaries, August 2012).
In 2012 in New Jersey, there were 553 fatal collisions that resulted in 589 deaths. There were 30 hit-and-run fatal crashes involving 48 vehicles in New Jersey in 2012. The victims included 2 drivers, 3 passengers, 26 pedestrians and 2 pedalcyclists (New Jersey State Police, September 2013).
An average of 1.6 car accident deaths happened in New Jersey each day of 2012.
Speeding
Speeding was a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes in the U.S. in 2011, and 9,944 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes. The annual economic cost to society of speeding-related crashes is estimated as $40.4 billion (NHTSA, April 2013).
The number of speed-related crashes in New York was 28,147 in 2011, causing 319 fatalities and 18,843 personal injuries (NY Traffic Safety Data, October 2012).
“Unsafe speed” contributed to 98 fatal car accidents in New Jersey in 2012 (New Jersey State Police, September 2013).
Drunk Driving
Drunk drivers – registering a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher – caused 9,878 fatalities in the U.S. in 2011, 31 percent of total traffic fatalities for the year. One hundred and eighty-one of the drunk driving fatalities were children, including 25 who were pedestrians or pedalcyclists struck by drunk drivers (NHTSA, December 2012).
In New York, 8,461 crashes in 2011 that were reported as “alcohol-related” caused 362 deaths and 6,121 personal injuries (NY Traffic Safety Data, October 2012).
In New Jersey, 193 people were killed in car crashes in 2011 in which a driver registered a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher (NHTSA, December 2012).
Distracted Driving
Across the U.S., 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving distracted drivers, and an estimated 387,000 more were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2011 (NHTSA, April 2013).
Cell phone use was blamed in 3,383 crashes in New Jersey in 2012: 1,838 wrecks involving hand-held phones injured 896 people and killed 6 people, and 1,545 crashes involving hands-free phones resulted in 586 people injured and 3 dead (NJ Department of Transportation, July 2013).
Contact a NY / NJ Car Accident Lawyer
If you have been injured or a loved one of yours was killed in a car accident that was caused by someone else, the experienced car accident lawyers at Ginarte Gonzalez Winograd L.L.P., may be able to help you obtain compensation for your losses.
There is no charge to talk with our car accident lawyers. We collect fees only if you win your case. Call 1-888-GINARTE now. You can also fill out our online contact form or visit one of our seven nearby offices in Newark, New York City, Queens, Union City, Elizabeth, Clifton or Perth Amboy.