If you are like most people in New Jersey, you have driven past your share of car accidents. If you are lucky, most of these have been minor collisions that have not resulted in serious harm to any person. Unfortunately, this does not mean that serious accidents do not happen. You only need to scan news headlines to learn that vehicular fatalities continue to plague the region. Even worse is the fact that many of these incidents are caused by the conscious reckless behavior of drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 124 people killed in vehicle crashes in Passaic County between 2013 and 2017. Excessive speed was found to be a contributing factor in 36 of the deaths. Drinking and driving was involved in 47 of the deaths.

Statewide, the number of deaths in motor vehicle accidents has increased every year from 2013 to 2017 from 542 to 624. In 2017 alone, 125 people lost their lives at the hands of drunk drivers despite the widespread acknowledgement that driving after consuming alcohol is not safe. Speeding claimed the lives of another 120 people that year alone. Both drunk driving and speeding are factors that are completely controllable by drivers. Sadly, too many people choose to put their immediate wishes above the safety of others.

If you would like to learn more about the factors involved in fatal vehicle accidents and how to get help after losing a loved one in such a crash, please feel free to visit the car accident compensation and assistance page of our New Jersey personal injury website.