New Jersey SUV Accident Lawyer

Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are becoming more and more popular, and as a result, we are sharing our roads with more and more of these large, often-unwieldy vehicles. SUVs are everywhere you look, and they are closely associated with dangerous traffic accidents. If a negligent SUV driver leaves you injured, it’s time to consult with a New Jersey SUV accident lawyer.

Dangerous Pedestrian Accidents

The statistics related to pedestrian deaths and SUVs (as shared by AARP) are staggering and include all of the following:

• There were approximately 6,000 pedestrian deaths in 2016 (up nearly 50 percent since 2009), and the constant variable in this increase is SUVs, accounting for a steadily growing percentage of these tragic fatalities.
• There has been a 69 percent increase in SUV involvement in fatal pedestrian accidents.
• Pedestrians are a full 2 to 3 times more likely to be killed in accidents involving SUVs than they are in accidents involving passenger cars.

SUVs, in other words, pose a serious danger for pedestrians. Because their front ends are both blunter and higher than those of other vehicles, they are more likely to hit pedestrians at the head or chest level, which often results in more lethal injuries.

Dangers Inherent to SUVs

Several dangers associated with SUVs are inherent to their design, including:

• High Center-of-Gravity – SUVs have a higher center-of-gravity than passenger cars on the road, which leaves them more susceptible to rollovers when taking sharp curves at highway speeds or when engaging in collision avoidance. When an SUV rolls over on the road, it not only seriously endangers everyone in that vehicle but also imperils all oncoming traffic.
• Higher Clearance – SUVs sit higher off the ground than other cars, which leaves more room underneath for dangerous underride accidents to occur. Underride here refers to a dangerous accident in which a bicyclist, motorcyclist, or pedestrian slips underneath the SUV during the course of the accident.
• Increased Blind Spots – SUVs have larger and more plentiful blind spots than passenger cars. Blind spots are those areas around the vehicle that the driver can’t see when he or she looks in his or her safety mirrors. These blind spots leave vehicles that enter their adjacent space especially vulnerable to dangerous accidents. Generally, the larger the vehicle, the more significant the blind spots, which leaves SUVs especially prone.
• A False Sense of Security – It’s postulated that SUV drivers may take unnecessary risks because of the false sense of security they derive from driving one of the larger non-commercial vehicles on the road. While their size can protect them somewhat from the impact of an accident, it also makes them more prone to rolling over and to causing dangerous accidents in the first place.

Call an Experienced New Jersey SUV Accident Lawyer Today

If you’ve been injured by a negligent SUV driver, the dedicated New Jersey SUV accident lawyers at Leonard Legal Group in Morristown and Franklin Lakes have extensive experience helping clients like you obtain the compensation to which they are entitled. Your case matters, so please don’t hesitate to contact us online or call us at 973-984-1414 for more information today.