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Just how dangerous are car accidents in the state of New Jersey? A look at crash data collected by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) can help shed some light on the situation and reveal driving safety – or danger – trends in the state.
Every year, there are thousands of auto accidents in New Jersey alone. Information about all of these crashes can take months to compile and analyze, which is why 2018 crash data is the most recent complete set of information we can use at this time.
Key points in New Jersey 2018 car accident statistics:
- Total crashes in the entire state – 278,413: This amount is the highest it has been in more than a decade. In recent data, 2003 saw the most crashes at 284,749. A gradual decline followed, but an uptick in car accidents has been reported since 2012.
- Total crashes that caused injuries – 61,043: In the early 2000s, the number of traffic collisions that caused one or more injuries that required medical attention was nearly 80,000. Today’s amount is noticeably lower, but still far too high. Statistically, more than 21% of all crashes in 2018 caused an injury, which means more than 160 people were hurt in a collision a day.
- Total crashes that caused at least one fatality – 524: More than one person a day lost their lives in a car accident in New Jersey during 2018. The largest number of reported deaths occurred in Middlesex County with 47 total. Middlesex County is the second-most populated county in the state. Although, Bergen County reported has 100,000 people more than Middlesex County yet had 15 fewer traffic fatalities during the same reporting period. This information draws attention to traffic patterns, road layouts, and other issues that can cause car accidents, rather than assuming that more drivers automatically mean more crashes.
Statistics Regarding Cellphone Use While Driving
In 2018, NJDOT recorded 1,015 car accidents caused by or involving a driver who was using their smartphone at the time of the crash and who was actually holding it. Another 377 crashes were caused by drivers who were using a handsfree cellular device, such as a Bluetooth speaker system in their car. The rate of texting-and-driving accidents has declined in recent years, though, with a concerning spike beginning in 2006. Perhaps by no coincidence, several Blackberry devices and cellphones with easy-to-use keyboard features were released and widely popular that year. The first iPhone was also released in 2007, which saw similar crash statistics as the year before.
Additionally, about 50% of all cellphone-related accidents in 2018 caused an involved party to suffer an injury, which is an injury rate 2.5 times higher than that of all car accidents in the state. The remarkably higher injury rate reinforces the assumption that distracted drivers are far less likely to take any sort of defensive maneuvers when in a crash, such as last-second braking or bracing for impact.
For more information about New Jersey’s car accident statistics, you can click hereto visit the official NJDOT website. For legal help after being in a car accident in Woodbridge or elsewhere in New Jersey, call (732) 709-4400 and speak with the attorneys of Palmisano & Goodman, P.A. Our team has been protecting and upholding the rights of the injured more than 100+ combined years of total experience, and we have recovered millions of dollars for our clientsthroughout that time. Give us a chance to deliver excellent legal service to you, too, by contacting our firmtoday.