Last month the New Jersey Department of Transportation released information about the sections of highway where the most accidents took place in 2017. Most of them are in North Jersey but there are plenty of dangerous places in south and central New Jersey too. I'm going to focus on North Jersey today because that's where most people who read this page are from. If you commute these are the highway corridors where you should be the most careful.
On the top of the list I-80 in Patterson. There were 180 crashes on that one mile stretch of highway last year. I can tell you this part of route 80 is very dangerous from first hand experience. Back in 1990 I totaled my car and collided with a truck just before the ramp for route 20. The flow of traffic went from 55 MPH to a sudden stop because of volume. I was tired and didn't react fast enough. At least I know I'm not alone when it comes to crashes on Route 80 in Patterson.
Next on the list is where Route 24 and route 287 come together in Hanover Township Morris County. Traffic congestion and cars weaving in and out of lanes to exit caused 190 crashes last year. In the case of Patterson and Hanover Township locations that's more than one crash every other day.
Route 17 from Paramus to Ridgewood was the most dangerous hot spot a few years ago. It's on the list again this year. Once again I have personal experience with this stretch of highway that saw over 200 accidents a few years ago. This is the busiest shopping area in the state and a commuter corridor as well. I drove along this part of Route 17 several times a month on my way to the George Washington Bridge to see my daughter on Long Island. Let's just say I had some really close calls.
The other really dangerous section of highway is in South Jersey but it's very heavily traveled by North Jersey residents in the summer months. The 5 mile stretch of Route 37 from the Garden State Parkway to the Barnegat Bay Bridge is regularly a place where over 200 crashes occur every year.
Source: NJ.COM
Photo by Pixabay