New Jerseyans Complain About Potholes More Than Anyone In U.S., Research Says

NEW JERSEY — Cruising through the Garden State can get bumpy, with New Jersey drivers paying an average of $713 per year from travel on roads that need repair. A new report shows New Jerseyans — more than anyone in the nation — are sick of it. And they've taken their complaints to a place where anyone can yell into the void: Twitter.

For the most part, potholes develop through groundwater seeping into the ground under the pavement. If the water freezes, it will expand, causing the pavement to expand, bend and crack, according to AAA. When the ice melts, it leaves gaps or voids under the pavement's surface, causing the pavement to weaken and break down as vehicles drive over it.

New Jersey's climate makes it a prime place for pothole development. And 47 percent of New Jersey's roads and 7 percent of the state's bridge decks are "non-acceptable" by the Federal Highway Administration's standards.

Garden State residents are "by far" the most likely to complain about potholes, according to a study from auto-insurance company HiRoad. Researchers collected 1.3 million geotagged Twitter posts related to driving, with data collected between May 12 and 25. The Garden State had the highest ratio of "stress tweets" about potholes, with 56.3 percent of stress tweets related to pothole complaints.

New York came in second, with 52.5 percent of stress tweets about driving related to potholes. North Carolina ranked third at 51.6 percent, followed by Ohio at 50.2 percent and then Pennsylvania, Iowa and Colorado at 50 percent.

For what it's worth, stress tweets within the state appeared most commonly on Tuesdays.

Driving through New Jersey can often test one's patience behind the wheel. But potholes have especially plagued the Garden State for a long time, according to QuoteWizard. The company analyzed search data on pothole-related complaints going back to 2004. New Jersey ranked 11th in terms of pothole-complaint searches.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5) said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which passed last November, will cut down on New Jersey's "pothole tax" — the $713 the state's drivers pay for vehicle damage on crumbling roads. About $8 billion in the $715 billion federal infrastructure package will support fixing New Jersey roads and bridges.

"$713 in damage to their cars, not including lost productivity and time," Gottheimer said in February. "Flat tires, cracks in wheels, and transmissions falling out of cars. Hours lost in traffic trying to get to work. Hours missed reading bedtime stories to your children. But now, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill we are going to help cut the Pothole Tax."

Here's HiRoad's full report on driving and stress.