Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in New Jersey

Written by:
January 4, 2023
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Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in New Jersey

Media outlets were quick during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns that defined the summer and fall of 2020 to note just how little traffic there was as a result. Simple logic would suggest that less traffic equals a lower likelihood of accidents and thus fewer injuries and fatalities. Sadly, this was not the case.

Nationwide, traffic fatalities rose 7.2% in 2020 to nearly 39,000. That number was the highest recorded since 2007. Qualifying this disturbing fact is a sticky wicket—common denominators behind traffic deaths such as impaired driving, failure to use a seat belt, and excessive speed were certainly contributing factors, but they alone do not account for a rise in deaths commensurate with a 430-million-mile drop in the number of miles people traveled across the course of the year. What can be qualified, however, is where fatal crashes took place.

Citing data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Stacker identified the counties in New Jersey that had the most fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2020. The number of accident fatalities are ranked by the number of deaths per 100,000 people, with the raw number functioning as a tiebreaker. The analysis only looked at counties with at least five deaths during 2020. Additional data is included on pedestrian, bicyclist, and drunk-driving-related deaths. In counties where at least five fatalities happened on the same street or interstate, the road with the most deaths is also included.

#20. Morris County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 3.3 per 100K people (#1,700 nationally, 17 deaths)
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#19. Hudson County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 3.4 per 100K people (#1,699 nationally, 24 deaths)
- 9 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#18. Somerset County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 4.1 per 100K people (#1,682 nationally, 14 deaths)
- 7 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#17. Bergen County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 4.4 per 100K people (#1,678 nationally, 42 deaths)
- 20 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-17 (7 fatalities)

#16. Sussex County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 4.8 per 100K people (#1,669 nationally, 7 deaths)
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#15. Ocean County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 4.8 per 100K people (#1,664 nationally, 30 deaths)
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 11 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#14. Union County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 5.1 per 100K people (#1,648 nationally, 29 deaths)
- 15 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-1 (6 fatalities)

#13. Monmouth County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 5.3 per 100K people (#1,632 nationally, 34 deaths)
- 9 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 12 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Roads with most fatalities: 444, SR-35 (5 fatalities each)

#12. Essex County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 5.3 per 100K people (#1,631 nationally, 45 deaths)
- 13 pedestrian deaths
- 3 bicyclist deaths
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#11. Mercer County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 5.5 per 100K people (#1,622 nationally, 21 deaths)
- 7 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#10. Passaic County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 5.6 per 100K people (#1,620 nationally, 29 deaths)
- 8 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#9. Camden County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 7.3 per 100K people (#1,536 nationally, 38 deaths)
- 14 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#8. Middlesex County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 7.8 per 100K people (#1,506 nationally, 67 deaths)
- 23 pedestrian deaths
- 5 bicyclist deaths
- 13 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Roads with most fatalities: US-1, SR-35 (8 fatalities each)

#7. Burlington County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 8.9 per 100K people (#1,444 nationally, 41 deaths)
- 8 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-38 (7 fatalities)

#6. Hunterdon County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 9.3 per 100K people (#1,426 nationally, 12 deaths)
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#5. Cape May County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 9.4 per 100K people (#1,421 nationally, 9 deaths)
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

#4. Gloucester County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 11.6 per 100K people (#1,275 nationally, 35 deaths)
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 11 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-322 (7 fatalities)

#3. Atlantic County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 14.6 per 100K people (#1,075 nationally, 40 deaths)
- 9 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-40 (7 fatalities)

#2. Cumberland County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 15.5 per 100K people (#1,003 nationally, 24 deaths)
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-47 (5 fatalities)

#1. Salem County, New Jersey

- Motor vehicle crash fatalities: 21.6 per 100K people (#692 nationally, 14 deaths)
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities

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