While it seems that motor vehicle crashes ending in fatalities are more common, they’ve actually decreased. Looking at statistics since 2017 on NJ’s roads- it shows fatals have dropped by around 10%. All of this is sadly brought to focus after the double-fatal head-on crash yesterday on the Parkway. Vehicles and roads get safer each year, but none of this accounts for driver error. So, exactly how safe are our roads- and which roads are highways of death in the Garden State?

The New Jersey State Police are the general record keepers for the crash data in our state. With 2020 just ending, the formal numbers aren’t finalized yet. We will take a look at 2019’s numbers for this report- and update when 2020 is released.

Below is a small breakdown showing the statistics from 2017-2018-2019.

Now we take a look at the ages of victims who died on our roads for 2019. While there isn’t any one age group that disproportionately sways the statistics, remember that 16 year olds can receive learner permits in NJ.

Finally, we can sleep a little easier tonight knowing that Ocean County is not number one for this list. Camden County is the most fatal county for vehicle crashes in 2019 with 45 deaths. Ocean County is kind of in the top 5, with 37 reported deaths in 2019.

Preliminary numbers show 2020 totals to be about 549 accidents with 586 fatalities. This is an increase over 2019’s numbers- which is interesting. 2020 apparently saw a large decline in vehicle traffic- but it appears deadlier. We will examine 2020’s numbers when NJSP releases them.

We were able to retrieve the breakdown of each fatality on Ocean County roads from 2020. The dates, times, and locations of each fatal crash are given below in the table. For record purposes- the Garden State Parkway (GSP) uses internal code NJ State Route 444 to abbreviate.

Ocean County
MunicipalityDateTimeLocationFatalities
Toms River12/26/20201054State Highway 37 E1
Jackson Twsp12/24/20201802County 5271
Manchester Twsp12/12/20202025State Highway 70 E1
Berkeley Twsp11/29/20201340Westbrook Dr E MP 01
Stafford Twsp11/27/20201027State Highway 72 W1
Plumsted Twsp11/12/20201733County 640 E1
Manchester Twsp11/05/20201728Beckerville Road approx .8 miles west of SH 701
Lacey Twsp10/25/20200510State Highway 9 (Multiple Roads)1
Jackson Twsp10/22/20201443County 5471
Lakewood Twsp10/21/20202030County 637 S1
Brick Twsp10/10/20201536County 5491
      “09/18/20202248County 528 E1
Lacey Twsp09/18/20200558County 5391
Stafford Twsp09/16/20200850State Highway 72 E at Barnacle Drive1
Toms River09/05/20202315State/Interstate Authority 444 S MP 861
Jackson Twsp09/05/20201639Thompson Bridge Rd E MP 01
Toms River08/18/20201700County 571 W (Spur (County Routes Only))1
Eagleswood Twsp06/14/20202332County 606 E MP 2.41
Ocean Twsp06/07/20201713State/Interstate Authority 444 N MP 701
Jackson Twsp06/05/20201524Interstate 195 E MP 21.81
Little Egg Harbor T05/11/20201537State/Interstate Authority 444 S MP 58.81
Stafford Twsp04/26/20200646County 111 N MP 21
      “03/25/20201731Stafford Ave E MP 01
Berkeley Twsp03/09/20201333State Highway 9 S MP 88.51
Toms River02/28/20201433State Highway 70 W MP 49.27 at CR 6371
Eagleswood Twsp02/22/20201751County 606 W MP 2.11
Jackson Twsp01/31/20202226County 547 N MP 3.81
Manchester Twsp01/28/20201634County 8 E MP .72 at Northampton Blvd1
Stafford Twsp01/26/20201752State/Interstate Authority 444 S MP 64.51
Toms River01/26/20200309State Highway 37 E MP 6.651
Brick Twsp01/13/20201751County 549 (Spur (County Routes Only)) MP 2.91
Accident Count: 31County Totals:31

Sadly- finally, we open 2021 with two fatalities on the roads of New Jersey. The two passengers from the Barnegat GSP crash are a somber reminder to stay safe always, but especially on the roads. While we cannot avoid every accident that happens- we can pay attention better to provide enough time to drive defensively and avoid collisions. Remember, you very well may be Right, Dead Right (when proclaiming who has the right-of-way)

NJSP aimed for a ZERO-Fatality New Year’s Holiday Weekend.