Driving can be a dangerous way to get to your destination. Even if you are a safe driver, there are others on the road who may not be as cautious or take risks while driving.
Other motorists are not the only factor when it comes to avoiding crashes. Often roads and intersections are designed first for budget and efficiency, not safety.
These are some of the most dangerous highways in New Jersey.
Some are dangerous by volume
Two of the most dangerous roadways in New Jersey are the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. These highways do not suffer from design flaws; they simply have a large amount of traffic flowing through them.
Both of these highways help over 200 million vehicles get to their destination during the year. While the number of crashes is staggering (7,777 for the turnpike and 10,363 on the Garden State Parkway), it is less surprising in light of the amount of traffic traveling through.
Danger by design
Route 1 came in third in a 2019 report on dangerous New Jersey highways with almost 7,000 crashes in 2018. A two-mile stretch of Route 1 had over 200 crashes due to the high amount of traffic trying to exit and enter the roadway.
In addition to the significant amount of traffic, Route 1 also has many traffic lights, intersections and parking lot entrances that mean slow traffic entering and exiting with faster traffic.
While you may not be able to avoid these dangerous roadways, you can use extra caution when you are traveling. These are not areas where you want to be distracted from being aware of the other motorists around you. Often, staying safe is a matter of giving other drivers plenty of room, so you both have plenty of time to react to extraordinary circumstances.