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One-fifth of New Jersey traffic fatalities are pedestrian deaths

On Behalf of | Jun 20, 2011 | Car Accidents

One out of every five people killed in a traffic-related in New Jersey over the last decade was a pedestrian, according to a new national study. Such pedestrian accidents accounted for 21 percent of total traffic deaths for the years 2000 to 2009, with minority and elderly populations making up a disproportionate majority of those killed in car crashes in those years.

According to research was conducted by Transportation for America, a national traffic safety advocacy group, 1,514 pedestrians were killed in New Jersey from 2000 to 2009, with almost 48,000 pedestrian fatalities reported nationwide. The reasons for the high number of pedestrian deaths were not completely known, but experts believe that too widely-spaced crosswalks and lack of bicycle lanes may be at least partially responsible.

Several New Jersey roads and intersections were singled out as being especially dangerous, such as Burlington Pike in Burlington, White Horse Pike and Black Horse Pike in Atlantic City, and Route 35 in Perth Amboy. The New Jersey Department of Transportation has already made plans to inspect and renovate several of these sites in response to the study and its results.

In addition, the state DOT has a recent policy wherein safety upgrades must be made when a new street is built or an existing road or bridge undergoes major renovations. These improvements include adding medians in the middle of streets, widening sidewalks, and creating bike lanes.

If you or a family member has been injured in a car-pedestrian accident, please contact Breslin & Breslin for a free consultation with an attorney.

Source: The Star-Ledger, “Pedestrians account for one of every five traffic-related deaths in N.J., says study,” Salvador Rizzo, 25 May 2011

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