Drivers Down, Traffic Deaths Up In NJ: Report

NEW JERSEY —Speeding, careless driving, and drug and alcohol impairment contributed to a recent rise in traffic deaths in New Jersey and across the nation, according to a new report by the nonprofit States Newsroom.

New Jersey saw a 26 percent increase in traffic fatalities from 2019 to 2022, according to an analysis from the nonprofit States Newsroom. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 701 people died in New Jersey traffic crashes last year, compared to 558 people in 2019.

Nationally, traffic deaths spiked 18 percent since 2019 – even as people are driving less than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows a 3 percent decrease in vehicle miles traveled from 2019-2022.

Most of the increase in traffic deaths was in cities, suburbs and small towns, States Newsroom found - and rural areas were less affected. And, most of the increase in fatal accidents has been caused by speeding, careless driving and drug or alcohol use, according to federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System data from 2019 to 2021, the news network reported.

“It seems like there was something going on with people that was leading to this riskier behavior, and we really don’t know what was causing it,” said Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in the States Newsroom report.

“Even when people weren’t driving that much, the people who were driving were doing it in a more risky way,” Cicchino said.

Municipalities and state legislators in New Jersey have put forth various ideas to reduce the number of driving deaths.

New Jersey ended its red-light camera program in 2014 after lawmakers and then-Gov. Chris Christie didn't renew a five-year pilot program that set them up at 73 intersections in 24 towns.

State lawmakers have proposed a Vision Zero task force, with a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2035. Vision Zero is a nationwide campaign aiming to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries. Hoboken, one of two Garden State municipalities to adopt the campaign, and has gone more than four years without a traffic-related death.