SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Fall is the worst time of year for crashes involving deer and other animals on Middlesex County roads, and South Brunswick is one of the hardest-hit towns, a new analysis of state data shows.
Police reported 1,199 animal-related crashes in Middlesex County in 2023 and 2024, according to an analysis of New Jersey Department of Transportation crash records by Injuries Cases Autos, a website that publishes car accident guides. Of those, 515 crashes, or 43%, happened in October and November.
The numbers have been going up. The county had 552 animal crashes in 2023 and 647 in 2024, a 17% jump. Preliminary figures show 657 in 2025.
South Brunswick had 64 animal crashes in October and November over the two years. That's second in the county, behind only Piscataway.
The top five Middlesex towns for October and November animal crashes in 2023 and 2024 were:
Over the full two years, South Brunswick had 140 animal crashes. That's 4 percent of all crashes in the township, nearly double the countywide rate of 2.1 percent.
Edison had 107 animal crashes over the two years. Because the township sees so much traffic overall (8,552 crashes in that period), animals were involved in just 1.3 percent of them.
Route 1 had more deer-involved crashes than any other road in the county, with 86.
Statewide, the worst hour for animal crashes in October and November is 6 to 7 p.m. Middlesex County's worst hour comes later, from 9 to 10 p.m., with 43 crashes.
In October and November, the county had 113 animal crashes between 9 p.m. and midnight, compared with 98 between 5 and 8 p.m. About 71 percent happened in the dark.
October was the county's worst month, with 277 crashes. Statewide, November is the worst month.
Animal crashes in the early evening go up after daylight saving time ends. In Middlesex County, crashes between 5 and 8 p.m. rose from 30 in the two weeks before clocks fell back to 40 in the two weeks after, according to the analysis.
The Monday after the time change was especially bad. The county had six animal crashes that day in 2023 and seven in 2024. On an average fall day, it has about 4.2.
Clocks fell back this year on Nov. 1.
Someone was hurt or killed in 50 of the county's animal crashes, about 4.2 percent. Statewide, that figure was 914 crashes, or 4.6 percent.
New Jersey had 20,082 animal-related crashes in 2023 and 2024. Middlesex ranks eighth of the state's 21 counties by total count. Animal crashes make up a smaller share of all crashes in Middlesex (17th of 21), because the county has so much traffic. Monmouth County had the most animal crashes, with 2,374.
Patch reported on Nov. 12 that Morris County had the most deer-involved crashes in North Jersey, with 1,467.
The figures only include crashes reported to police. The state's crash records use a general "animal" crash type and don't say whether a deer was involved.
Read the full report here.
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