New Jersey ranks second deadliest for fall driving crashes nationwide
We’re getting into the season of tricky driving in the Garden State.
With the cooler weather comes wet roads, dark evenings, fallen leaves, possible frost, and the rutting season for deer.
All of these factors make me nervous for driving on the New Jersey roads, especially as someone who is hyper aware of deer on the roads since one hit my car a few years ago.
As it turns out, I’m not entirely paranoid when it comes to driving at this time of year. One study backs up that it’s notoriously terrible.
Researchers at Strype Injury Lawyers analyzed fatal crash data for all 50 states between 2020 and 2024 to determine the states that have the most fatal accidents this time of year.
They counted how many crashes happened during September, October and November, then calculated the percentage this represented of each state’s overall fatal crash total.
New Jersey is the second deadliest state for fall driving
We in the Garden State only rank under North Dakota in terms of dangerous autumnal driving.
For the four-year period, New Jersey totals 908 fatal crashes in the fall out of 3,067 overall.
Our share of 29.61% is just over one percentage point below North Dakota and higher than neighboring New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
As for the states that have the lowest share of fatal crashes in the fall, West Virginia takes the lead, with Florida and Hawaii rounding out the top three.
READ MORE: It's the time of year where deer are becoming a problem
What can you do to not become part of this horrible Jersey statistic?
Respect wet leaves. When those leaves start dropping and we get precipitation, wet leaves can be every bit as slippery as a sheet of ice. Stay aware of that, and drive accordingly.
Be cautious when the clocks change. Even if you aren’t someone affected by the ‘fall back’ to standard time, you’re driving among others who are. Practice defensive driving even more so for those few days.
Just slow down.
It’s good advice anyway, but with deer mating season coming, reducing your speed can give you the reaction time needed to avoid a catastrophe.
Sure, we love fall. Let’s make sure we live to see all of it.
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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.
