By: Avi Gutfreund. If you live in Lakewood, work in Lakewood, or simply drive through Lakewood, you are probably well aware of the driving conditions in town. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, impatient drivers, and accidents are so commonplace it would almost seem out of place to not experience of them on an average day. Besides for car accidents, our town also has a higher than average rate of pedestrian deaths. Whether this fact is directly attributable to the drivers in town or is just coincidental, I think we should make improvements in our driving habits in an attempt to reduce that number. And although the number of accidents in town is an issue which will probably be around for a while, I think there is something we can all pledge to do, or rather not to do, to help alleviate the rate at which these mishaps occur.
We are all aware of the danger of driving while impaired. Drinking and driving is a serious issue all over the United States. It is estimated that an average of 345,000 are injured each year by drunk drivers, an astonishing number. But what you may find surprising is that even more people, 390,000, are estimated to be injured on average each year by drivers distracted by their cellphones. In fact, texting while driving is 6x more likely to cause an accident than drunk driving.
Many of us, myself included, has driven while allowing ourselves to be distracted by our phones, usually by way of texting. Looking at a text takes roughly five seconds, an amount of time which, at 40 miles per hour, will have you driving over 200 feet before getting your eyes back on the road. Studies show that texting while driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
The National Safety Council says that some 1.6 million motor vehicle accidents occur on a yearly average due to texting and driving. It would seem to me that more than a handful of those 1.6 million occur within the confines of 08701. In a recent poll on TLS, 38% of drivers admitted to texting while driving. If that number is accurate, we have a problem on our hands. No wonder there are so many accidents. With the traffic in town already at bottleneck levels, we can’t afford to be consciously driving in a reckless manner.
I would suggest that we all make a personal pledge to put down the phone and just drive. No matter how interesting or important that text is, it’s probably not worth a visit to the auto repair shop, or worse, the hospital.
Agree. Time to pledge that our children have a safer Lakewood.
Thank You!
Well said!
Stop the building around town.
I would go further to say this could perhaps be one of the best things you can take on for this coming year ahead of rosh hasonah. It can literally save lives – perhaps even your own.
OP please let me know what streets we can go 40 mph on
Ty
If 390k accidents are from drivers that are texting and 345k accidents are from drunk drivers, how can it be that you’re 6x more likely to get into an accident while texting. There are way more people texting while driving than driving while intoxicated. If so, there should be way more than 6x more accidents(around 2 Million+) yet we only have a mere 45k more?
These numbers don’t make sense. Regardless, one shouldn’t drive and text because it does cause accidents.
BY NOW, TECHNOLOGY SHOULD ALLOW TO DETECT ‘TEXTING AND DRIVING’ FROM A CAMERA
Hey ‘Me’,
It says 390k INJURIES, not accidents.
Clifton Ave – 9th & 10th street need major upgrades.
Firstly, a Traffic light on 9th & Clifton, & a 4 way stop on Clifton & 10th.
Secondly, Better Lighting, – for all of Lakewood ( low energy LED is a good investment, like NYC did)
Thirdly, the north side of ninth st., & the south side of 10th st., between Clifton & Lexington Ave’s should be no parking, as it is a narrow street that borders the parking lot of BMG, which should be paved & used to its fullest. [the little league is gone].
Fourthly lot should be open to 10th street too, [2 openings] to alleviate traffic
Fifthly, a no J-walking barrier or sign should be placed on Clifton ave, to avoid dangers.
More state police!
One of the biggest problems in Lakewood is the “me” attitude. I want to park as close to the yeshiva as possible – so i block cars already there & leave my key in the car. The guy whose car I am blocking comes out – has to move my car (where ? there is no room anyplace) before he can get his car.
Texting while driving is another example of this. We need to change to a “him” attitude. Thinking about what I do affects the other person.
I am by no means an aggressive driver, but I do want to be able to drive at the speed limit and it annoys me to no end when the person in front of me is crawling at 20-25 mph because he/she is probably texting and there is a huge space between him/her and the car in from of him/her.