While Interstate car and truck crash injury lawyer Doug Landau would have guessed that there would be fewer crashes from “hands free” cell phone operation, the numbers his mother sent him from New Jersey suggest that may not necessarily be so.  Landau grew up in Bergan County and has tried cases in Hudson County, so the interstate personal injury lawyer has travelled up and down the New Jersey Turnpike and I-95 hundreds of times.  Jersey lawyer Landau was surprised by these numbers:

Total crashes related to hand-held cell phone use:

2006        2007    2008

Bergan        164            177        149
Hudson        105            133        102
Passaic        125            110        84
New Jersey    1,854        1,866    1,821

Total crashes related to hands-free cell phone use:

Bergan        121            104        159
Hudson        214            221        310
Passaic        188            86        104
New Jersey    1,726        1,421    1,383

Bottom line: Using cell phones with or without the “hands free” option is dangerous.  If you must make an important call, pull over to the side of the road or, better yet, park the car and talk, take notes and concentrate on the conversation.  Multi-tasking behind the wheel may not be efficient if you or someone else winds up getting hurt.  When driving, focus on the road and the conditions around you, and driver defensively.   If you or someone you know has been injured due to a distracted driver, please e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555)