New Jersey Car Accident Statistics: Key Facts and Insights

Sadly, New Jersey roads are far from immune from the epidemic of auto injuries and deaths in the United States.

We have our fair share — more than, in many cases — of accidents, injuries, and deaths every year. And while there have been major improvements to our state’s roads, driving habits, and laws over the years, the incidents keep coming.

At Rosengard Law Group, we see many New Jersey car accident victims who are desperate for justice every day. To us, it feels incredibly common, but we wondered whether that was simply our experience but perhaps not the truth in general.

So, we decided to compile some New Jersey car accident statistics. We did, and we’re presenting what we found below.

We’ll leave it up to you to make your own assumptions about what these numbers mean. But if you are among the many injured on New Jersey’s roads each year, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Rosengard Law Group team. We’ll happily advise you on your legal options and fight for you if you decide to work with us.

In the meantime, keep reading.

Fatal Car Crashes Are Up in 2024

We wrote this article on Sept. 30, 2024. At that time, there had been 485 recorded deaths on New Jersey roads so far in 2024.

Compare that to 424 at this time in 2023, and you see we’re up 14.4 percent year over year.

That comes after a sharp decrease in road fatalities of 19.2 percent from 2022 to 2023.

Drivers Are the Most Common Victims, but Not the Only Victims

As of the end of September 2024, there had been 485 deaths on New Jersey roads.

Of those:

• 262 were driving a vehicle
• 144 were pedestrians
• 61 were passengers
• 18 were cyclists

These numbers show in stark detail that New Jersey car accidents are not only deadly to those inside of the vehicles but those on or near the roads, as well.

Middlesex County, NJ, Had the Most Fatal Car Accidents

By the end of September 2024, Middlesex County, New Jersey, had recorded 41 fatal car accidents. That was more than any other county so far that year.

Middlesex County was followed closely by Atlantic County with 40 fatal crashes. And Monmouth County was a close third with 37 fatal crashes by September of 2024.

Meanwhile, the New Jersey county with the fewest fatal crashes in that same time period was Cape May County with four recorded fatal car accidents.

New Jersey Saw 236,702 Crashes in a Single Year

In 2022 — the latest year for which data was available — New Jersey recorded 236,702 car accidents.

Keep in mind that this figure includes all car accidents — not just those with injuries or deaths. Still, it’s a shocking number.

Essex County recorded the highest number of crashes that year with 25,962. And Salem County recorded the fewest with 1,504.

22% of New Jersey Car Accidents Result in Injuries

In 2022, New Jersey saw 236,702 total car accidents on its public roads. Of those, 52,240 resulted in injuries. That’s roughly 22 percent.

Middlesex County saw the highest number of injury crashes that year with 5,590. And Salem County saw the fewest with 420.

And Fewer Than 1% Are Fatal

Finally some positive news in this list of New Jersey car accident statistics:

In 2022, 646 fatal car crashes were recorded in New Jersey. That’s just 0.2 percent of all of the crashes that occurred on Garden State roads that year.

While any number of deaths is too many, the fact that the fatality percentage was that low reads as positive.

That year, Middlesex County had the most fatal car crashes (64), while Hunterdon County had the fewest (eight).

Cell Phones Cause Many Injuries and Deaths on NJ Roads

Most people already know this, but in case you need a reminder: Using a cell phone while driving is a serious risk to your safety and the safety of others.

New Jersey’s car crash statistics prove that. In 2022, 1,382 New Jersey car accidents were attributed to cell phone use.

Of those, 1,017 were tied to handheld devices, and 365 were tied to hands-free devices. So don’t think a hands-free device is perfectly safe.

That same year, two car accident deaths were tied to cell phone use. That may seem relatively low, but keep in mind that cell phone-related car accidents were also tied to 628 injuries that year.

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

We hope these New Jersey car accident statistics opened your eyes to the dangers we encounter on New Jersey roads. And if you are one of the many victims among these numbers, we also want you to know this:

You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. And Rosengard Law Group can help you pursue that compensation for your car accidents in NJ. To learn more, schedule a free consultation with our team of attorneys. Give us a call at 856-284-6446 or contact us online today.