Manalapan New Jersey Legal Blog

Drivers in New Jersey who are wary about autonomous vehicles should know about a report from the Rand Corporation. It says that automakers and autonomous vehicle developers are rushing to introduce self-driving cars, neglecting safety in the process. Road testing is essential, but it may require millions or even billions of miles before such cars are deemed to be reliable in preventing crashes.

Of all the companies that are developing self-driving car technology, Waymo has driven the most miles, testing its vehicles for over 10 million miles in the real world and for 7 billion miles on virtual roads through its in-house simulation technology. However, the Rand report states that even this is not enough; it may take decades or centuries for cars to be sufficiently tested.

New Jersey Tesla owners may be concerned to learn that the automaker's California production plant racked up three times more federal workplace safety violations over a five-year period than its top 10 competitors combined. The information was reported by Forbes.

According to the news outlet, Tesla's Fremont plant employs approximately 15,000 workers and contractors to make its electric vehicles. That is more workers than any other automaker employs in a single U.S.-based facility. It has also translated into significantly more safety violations than have been reported at any other plant. Between 2014 and 2018, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 54 violations at the Fremont plant. In comparison, the automaker with the second most violations, Nissan, received just five violations at its Tennessee plant over the same period of time.

It's an ongoing challenge to ensure that temporary contracted workers receive appropriate protection from workplace accidents, according to OSHA and many safety advocates. Too often, New Jersey companies view temps as somehow separate from the rest of the workforce. Employers that view contract workers in this light may not treat all workers with adequate respect. For example, companies may ask temp workers to engage in unsafe activities deemed beneath full-time employees. In 2016 alone, the U.S. witnessed over 850 workplace fatalities that involved contracted employees. Experts estimate that contract worker deaths account for more than 15 percent of American workplace fatalities.

Because temp workers are newer to their jobs, they generally have less familiarity with work equipment and potential safety hazards. For a number of reasons, temp workers may not feel empowered to speak out when faced with unsafe situations.

New Jersey drivers continue to operate their vehicles while distracted despite growing efforts to crack down on distracted driving and educate the public about its dangers. One study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety notes that from 2014 to 2018, rates of distracted driving remained roughly the same. However, researchers also documented that the types of distraction have changed over time, becoming even more dangerous. The study compared the results of observational surveys of drivers in 2014 and 2018, measuring behavior while driving and while stopped at red lights.

The nonprofit agency funded by the insurance industry found that drivers are less likely to engage in voice conversations on a handheld cellphone while driving than in the past. However, they are also 57 percent more likely to use their mobile devices to send text messages or surf the internet. This change reflects an overall difference in how people use their phones, but it can also pose a greater threat. Driving while talking on a handheld phone is dangerous, and drivers' eyes often shift to the center of the road. However, driving while manipulating a phone by hand, including typing and texting, increases the risk of fatal car accidents by 66 percent.