Waiting on Bayshore Road for the car in front of her to make a left turn, Robin DeWeese said she never even saw the other car coming, so she was perfectly relaxed when she was rear-ended and pushed forward into the other car.
“I was sandwiched,” she said. The oncoming car hit her 2007 Honda Accord with enough force to imprint the outline of its emblem in the back bumper of her car. She was just a couple of blocks from her home in Lower Township. Her Honda was totaled.
“I loved that car,” she said. DeWeese wasn’t hurt. She said the driver who hit her seemed shook up, and the people in the car ahead of her were taken to the hospital by ambulance for evaluation but seemed to be OK.
DeWeese tried to get as good a settlement on her car as possible.
“I squeezed every penny out of them as far as what I deserved,” she said. Still, her check fell well below the replacement value of the vehicle. She said she had to spend thousands to replace her car.
Running the Numbers
For DeWeese, the cost of the accident is straightforward: the several thousand dollars she spent to replace the car. She said she had a good driving record and was not at fault in the accident – in fact, she wasn’t even moving – so her insurance rates did not go up.
Add in the thousands her insurance company spent to settle her claim, and the numbers start to increase. It might well triple that number, because three cars were involved and each was damaged.
Factor in the cost of the police response, the ambulance rides and cleaning up whatever oil or other fluids spilled onto the roadway, the lost time at work and the additional hours either repairing damage or shopping for a new vehicle, and it becomes clear that the costs involved in even a minor accident add up quickly.
Of course, the costs of a collision to drivers and the public can vary enormously depending on the severity of an accident.
A parking lot fender bender in which neither party calls the police might run out to a few hundred dollars, while more serious accidents can be far costlier.
For instance, in July a vehicle left Townbank Road to slam into a building in North Cape May. Over the years, cars and trucks have struck houses, fences, businesses, and other buildings.
In April, a Jaguar XJ6 hit a home in Villas with enough force to crack the foundation. The driver was later charged with driving under the influence.
“That can add on six figures depending on what the structure is,” said Casey Byrne of the J. Byrne Agency Inc. of Wildwood. He said the total cost of an accident can range from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“We all know that anything that involves a hospital trip, that exponentially increases the overall cost of the claim,” he said.
Insurers Work It Out
In New Jersey, the driver at fault is responsible for covering the cost of the damage to both vehicles. In most instances, insurance companies representing the involved drivers work out a settlement.
The specifics of the accident, the insurance each driver carries, the amount of damage and more play a part in how a settlement is reached.
Sometimes this can be a quick process, and it’s clearly a routine matter for companies. But in cases in which there is an injury, the injured party often feels like they are not being compensated correctly, Byrne said.
In New Jersey, all drivers are legally required to carry auto insurance. But there is a wide range of options available, including a basic policy that offers little financial protection to drivers but is much cheaper.
A state primer on the options suggests this might be appropriate for those with few family responsibilities and few real estate assets.
Byrne said his agency will not offer minimum coverage policies, which he said are not sufficient to cover a driver’s costs in an accident.
Thousands of Crashes a Year
According to statistics from the state Department of Transportation, Cape May County saw 2,650 crashes in 2017, which was close to the average since 2001.
The most in a single year included in the state report was 3,100 in 2005, and the lowest, 2,615 reported in 2012.
Although the county experiences a huge influx of drivers each summer, the number of accidents is relatively low compared to North Jersey counties. For instance, Essex County saw 29,635 crashes last year, according to a recent state report.
A significant percentage of the accidents in the county each year take place in Middle Township. According to Middle Police Chief Christopher Leusner, the township sees close to 1,000 accidents each year, ranging from minor crashes to fatalities.
The numbers do not include accidents and crashes along the Garden State Parkway, which falls under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Police. The Middle Township Police Department’s annual report for 2017 showed 920 crashes that year, a decrease from previous years, but more accidents that resulted in injuries.
More than Money at Stake
There were 152 injuries from crashes in Middle Township in 2017, the report states, including three fatalities.
Crashes incur significant costs for the township, as well as for utility companies and rescue services.
But Leusner did not want to just talk about dollars. Injuries from car accidents can change lives and even end them.
“To me, that’s the greatest cost,” he said. “I think more about the impact on families and on the communities than I do about the property.”
He said he’s responded to car accidents that will stay with him for the rest of his career. Two easy changes could make an enormous difference, he said.
Intoxicated driving, whether from alcohol or drugs, plays a role in a significant number of accidents that involve injury or death, he said.
“Distracted driving is getting to be right up there,” he added.
Despite numerous and ubiquitous warnings, some drivers continue to text or interact with their phones while driving, with potentially deadly consequences.
In DeWeese’s example, she said the driver that hit her car did not hit the brakes, and after the crash did not seem to know what happened.
“I think she was on her cell phone,” she said.
Multitasking Doesn’t Work
In 1983, the Ad Council, a non-profit organization with its roots in World War II, launched its first campaign against drunk driving. Since then, awareness of the dangers of driving while intoxicated has increased dramatically.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk driving fatalities have fallen by a third over the past 30 years, but still, drunk-driving crashes claim more than 10,000 lives each year.
The Ad Council has more recently taken on the issue of distracted driving, with campaigns aimed at young people highlighting the dangers of texting while driving.
The National Safety Council has raised concerns about cell phone use as well as with the increasing use of screens for music and other entertainment in cars.
Each year, the council reports, tens of thousands of people are killed in motor vehicle crashes throughout the United States.
“Driver distractions have joined alcohol and speeding as leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes,” reads a white paper on distracted driving the council published in 2012.
A state report prepared by the DOT put the total number of accidents involving cellphone use at well over 1,000 for 2017.
In 1,134 instances, a hand-held device was in use, while in a total of 361 crashes statewide, a hands-free phone was cited in the crash. Two people were killed in cellphone-related crashes last year.
Municipal Costs Mount
According to Leusner, few take into account the huge number of hours his officers spend responding to and investigating car accidents, much less the costs incurred by the utility companies replacing downed poles or the cost to replace or repair traffic lights damaged in crashes.
Then there are the costs for the fire companies and emergency medical services, like the responders from the Rio Grande Rescue Squad, the Middle Township Ambulance Corps and the township’s EMS crew.
In most instances, an ambulance ride is billed to insurance companies at $500, which can add significant costs in the case of a multi-car accident.
According to Leusner, his department looks at data from previous accidents and other activity to decide where to assign officers. But he’d rather see even minor accidents prevented before they happen.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.
