New Jersey Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where New Jersey Traffic Deaths Happen

New Jersey State Police counted 581 traffic deaths on the state’s roads in 2025, according to their preliminary figures. That’s down about 15% from 684 in 2024. Pedestrians still made up about three in ten of the people killed. And 2026 is running lower again: the State Police’s daily count showed 431 deaths as of October 26, compared with 475 at the same point last year.

After Ocean County came Middlesex with 49 deaths, Essex with 44 and Burlington with 43. Essex, home to Newark, had 27 pedestrians killed, more than any other county. In North Jersey, 61% of deaths and serious injuries from 2017 to 2021 happened on county and municipal roads, and distracted or drowsy driving and aggressive driving each played a part in about four in ten of those crashes, according to the NJTPA’s 2025 safety plan summary.

New Jersey’s High-Risk Highways and Corridors

A handful of New Jersey highways turn up in crash reports week after week. Here’s what makes each one tricky, with official or news figures wherever they’ve been published.

1. New Jersey Turnpike (I-95): Delaware Memorial Bridge to the George Washington Bridge

The State Police call the Turnpike the nation’s busiest limited access toll road: 148 miles, four to twelve lanes wide, carrying nearly all the highway traffic between New York and Philadelphia. I-95, which in New Jersey follows the Turnpike from Exit 6 north to the George Washington Bridge plus the extension to Pennsylvania, had 24 fatal crashes in 2023, more than any other interstate in the state, according to the State Police’s 2023 fatal crash report.

In Bergen County, from the Vince Lombardi Service Area in Ridgefield to the bridge in Fort Lee, heavy merging and stop-and-go traffic cause the trouble. Down south, it’s speed and fatigue. An Inquirer analysis of NJDOT data found 4 fatal crashes on a single half mile of the Turnpike in Mount Laurel from 2019 to July 2026.

2. Garden State Parkway: Cape May to the New York Line

The Parkway runs 173 miles from the southern tip of the state to the New York Thruway, and it’s the main road to the Shore. Summer weekends bring backups, sudden stops and last-second exits.

In Ocean County, the Turnpike Authority says the stretch between Mileposts 80 and 83 in the Toms River area has “high crash rates”, and NBC New York reported five deaths and 335 injuries there since 2023.

3. U.S. Route 1: Trenton to Newark

Route 1 starts on the Trenton Freeway and turns into one long commercial strip through Lawrence, West Windsor, the Brunswicks, Edison and Woodbridge. Shopping center driveways, jughandles and people crossing six lanes to reach a bus stop keep rear-end and angle crashes coming, and night is the worst time for pedestrians.

More than 300 people died on Middlesex County roads over the five years before March 2025, and 45 of them were on Route 1, Patch reported when the county prosecutor launched a Route 1 enforcement initiative with local police.

4. U.S. Route 1&9 and U.S. Route 46: Two Ways to the George Washington Bridge

North of Woodbridge, Routes 1 and 9 run together as 1&9 through Elizabeth, Newark and Jersey City, and in Hudson County the road becomes Tonnelle Avenue. Trucks, bus riders and big-box traffic all share its lanes, and NJDOT planned safety work on the stretch from 51st Street to 89th Street in North Bergen because of “a higher than average number of vehicle and pedestrian crashes.”

Route 46 crosses the top of the state from the Delaware River to Fort Lee, lined with driveways through Wayne, Totowa and Clifton. NJDOT took on a rebuild of the Route 3 and Route 46 interchanges in Clifton and Little Falls, saying short acceleration and deceleration lanes, narrow shoulders and poor sight distance had led to “a high occurrence of accidents.”

5. U.S. Route 9: Cape May to Woodbridge

Route 9 is the old Shore road, running north from Cape May through Atlantic County, a corner of Burlington County and Ocean County, then through Freehold and Old Bridge before it joins Route 1 in Woodbridge. Through Toms River and Lakewood it carries heavy local traffic, with lots of turning cars, people on foot and few crosswalks.

Ocean County had more traffic deaths than any other county in 2025, 63 by the State Police count, and 18 of those killed were pedestrians.

6. U.S. Route 22: Newark to Phillipsburg

Route 22 runs from Newark west through Hillside, Union, Springfield, Mountainside and Bridgewater all the way to Phillipsburg on the Delaware. In Union County, businesses line both sides and the center median, so drivers are constantly braking for driveways, U-turns and jughandles at highway speed.

Union County had 29 traffic deaths in 2025, 11 of them pedestrians, per the State Police. In Hillside, NJDOT’s $10.3 million safety project at Hilldale Place and North Broad Street replaced a connector bridge and added a right-turn lane, an acceleration lane and median barrier.

7. U.S. Route 130: Salem County to North Brunswick

Route 130 runs up the Delaware River side of South Jersey, past Pennsauken, Cinnaminson, Delran, Burlington and Bordentown, and ends at Route 1 in North Brunswick. Much of it is strip malls, bus stops and long gaps between crosswalks.

NJDOT found 4 fatal crashes, 2 of them involving pedestrians, on a roughly three-mile stretch through Cinnaminson and Delran from 2017 to 2020, and rated it high for pedestrian crashes. Burlington County had 43 traffic deaths in 2025.

8. U.S. Route 322 and the Black Horse Pike: Commodore Barry Bridge to Atlantic City

Route 322 starts at the Commodore Barry Bridge in Logan Township and runs through Woolwich, Mullica Hill, Glassboro and Williamstown, then across the Pinelands into Atlantic County. In Gloucester County much of it is a two-lane rural highway with busy crossroads, heavy trucks and little lighting. Gloucester County had 29 traffic deaths in 2025.

From Williamstown east, Route 322 is the Black Horse Pike, and in Hamilton Township U.S. 40 joins it for the run through Egg Harbor Township and Pleasantville to Atlantic City. NJDOT’s capital program lists median closures on the Pike from Delilah Road to East Fire Road, work that grew out of a 2010 to 2012 crash analysis of that stretch. Atlantic County had 34 traffic deaths in 2025, 12 of them pedestrians.

More High-Crash Locations Across New Jersey

City safety plans, NJDOT crash screening lists and news analyses of state data have put numbers on specific streets and interchanges in Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Trenton, Camden and beyond.

Several of these are getting work. The Turnpike Authority’s plan for Parkway Interchanges 80 to 83 adds ramps, collector-distributor roads and 12-foot shoulders where they fit, and NBC New York reported a cost of at least $500 million with construction starting in 2027. In Jersey City, a Hudson County Vision Zero project is updating signals, curbs and sidewalks on JFK Boulevard. NJDOT’s preferred plan for Route 130 in Cinnaminson and Delran is a 10-foot shared-use path with other safety upgrades, with construction targeted for spring 2029.

How to Stay Safe on New Jersey’s Most Dangerous Roads

You can’t avoid these roads in New Jersey, but you can drive them knowing where the trouble is.

For Drivers:

1. Ease off the gas: Aggressive driving played a part in about four in ten of North Jersey’s fatal and serious-injury crashes. Keep to the limit on the Turnpike and Parkway.
2. Watch for driveways and jughandles: On Route 1, Route 22 and Route 46, cars pull in and out of businesses constantly. Leave room ahead.
3. Pick your lane early: The Parkway’s exits and the northern Turnpike’s lane splits come up fast. Know your exit well ahead.
4. Put the phone down: Distracted or drowsy driving shows up in about four in ten of North Jersey’s worst crashes. On a busy road like Tonnelle Avenue, one glance down is enough.
5. Look for people on foot at night: On Route 9 in Ocean County, Route 130 and the Black Horse Pike, pedestrians cross far from crosswalks after dark.

For Pedestrians:

1. Cross at signals: On wide roads like Route 1 and Route 130, crossing mid-block leaves drivers almost no time to react, especially at night.
2. Make eye contact: Don’t assume a driver sees you, even in a crosswalk. Wait until the car has fully stopped.
3. Be visible: Wear something bright or reflective after dark, and keep phones and earbuds from pulling your attention off traffic.

For Cyclists:

1. Choose quieter streets: Use bike lanes and side streets instead of highways like Route 22 or Route 46.
2. Light up: Run front and rear lights, wear bright colors and use hand signals so drivers know where you’re going.
3. Watch turning cars: Drivers turning right into driveways and side streets often don’t see cyclists. Never assume a driver will yield.

General Tips:

1. Plan around Shore traffic: Summer Fridays and Sundays on the Parkway and Route 9 are heavy. Leave early or late if you can.
2. Check conditions before you go: Snow, ice and fog make the Turnpike, Route 322 and other rural highways more dangerous.
3. Stay on top of alerts: NJ 511 or a navigation app will show crashes, closures and construction as they happen.

What to Do If You’re Injured in a New Jersey Car Accident

A crash on the Turnpike, Route 1 or the Parkway can leave you hurt and shaken. What you do in the first hours and days matters, for your health and for your claim.

1. Call 911. Even if nobody seems badly hurt, get police to the scene. They’ll write the official crash report that insurers rely on. If anyone is seriously injured, ask for an ambulance.
2. Get checked out. Concussions and internal injuries don’t always show up right away. Go to the ER or urgent care, and follow up with your own doctor.
3. Document the scene if you can. If it’s safe, photograph the vehicles, damage, plates and road conditions. Get witnesses’ contact details, and swap insurance information without admitting fault.
4. Be careful with adjusters. The other driver’s insurer may call soon. You can politely decline a recorded statement until you have your crash report and understand your options.
5. Keep everything. Medical records, bills, repair estimates, missed work, and every letter or email from an insurer.

Which agency has your report depends on where you crashed. State Police handle the Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, the Atlantic City Expressway and many interstate stretches, and they’re the police in towns that don’t have their own department. Elsewhere, including state highways like Route 1 or Route 22 as they pass through a town, the local police department usually takes the report. Our New Jersey crash report guide explains how to get a copy from each.

Don’t know which department responded, or would rather skip the paperwork? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

New Jersey Crash Hot Spot Questions

More New Jersey Crash Guides

County accident news: Essex County · Passaic County · Middlesex County · Ocean County · Union County · Monmouth County · Hunterdon County · Warren County

Nearby states: New York crash hot spots · Pennsylvania crash hot spots · Delaware crash hot spots

For the latest, crashes from around the state are posted in New Jersey accident news and our recent accident alerts.