OCEAN COUNTY – It seems that news of serious crashes are constantly flooding social media and news apps these days. Multi-car pile-ups, flipped cars, and worse make it to our news feeds – each one a cautionary tale.
For example, in one recent weekend, Toms River Police responded to 36 crashes. It begs the question: are we seeing more crashes – and more severe crashes these days?
A car catching fire after being hit is dramatic and scary, even if no one is hurt in it. But police don’t have a statistic for serious crashes. However, fatalities are recorded.
So far this year, in Ocean County, there’s been 27 fatal crashes that resulted in 28 deaths. Monmouth County saw 19 crashes resulting in 19 deaths. These numbers are on pace to match or exceed the last few years.
Photo courtesy Chad Oberhauser
In 2022, Ocean had 48 crashes resulting in 52 deaths. Monmouth had 46 crashes with 55 deaths.
In 2021, Ocean had 43 crashes with 44 deaths. Monmouth had 32 crashes with 34 deaths.
In 2020, when there were a lot of COVID quarantines, Ocean had 30 crashes with 30 deaths. Monmouth had 33 crashes with 34 deaths.
In 2019, Ocean had 37 crashes with 39 deaths. Monmouth had 33 crashes with 36 deaths.
In 2018, Ocean had 31 crashes with 39 deaths. Monmouth had 28 crashes with 29 deaths.
In 2017, Ocean had 52 crashes with 53 deaths. Monmouth had 40 crashes with 43 deaths.
In 2016, Ocean had 39 crashes with 41 deaths. Monmouth had 47 crashes with 50 deaths.
Sgt. Philip Curry of the New Jersey State Police said that the NJSP Fatal Accident Unit comes out when injuries seem serious. Looking at this data, certain trends emerge.
Photo courtesy Ocean County Scanner News
“Driver inattention, pedestrian violations and unsafe speed are typically the top three contributing factors in fatal crashes,” he said.
It’s important to note that driver inattention could mean cell phone use, a distraction in the vehicle, or even falling asleep at the wheel, he said. “Driver inattention” is also marked as a contributing circumstance when a vehicle runs off the road with no other explanation as to why.
If a pedestrian violation is noted, it means that the pedestrian’s action caused the crash, such as crossing where prohibited, he said.
“Based on the top 3 Contributing Circumstances year after year, crashes could potentially be reduced if drivers avoided distractions and drove defensively. Pedestrians should cross roadways designated for pedestrian crossing and should always use due caution for their own safety,” he said.
Statewide Deaths Rise
Statewide, the fatalities follow similar trends to Ocean and Monmouth counties. On the years that Ocean and Monmouth were really bad, the rest of the state is really bad, too.
2023 to date: 295 crashes causing 310 deaths
2022: 650 crashes causing 694 deaths.
2021: 667 crashes causing 697 deaths
2020: 550 crashes causing 587 deaths
2019: 524 crashes causing 558 deaths
2018: 524 crashes (same two years in a row) causing 563 deaths
2017: 591 crashes causing 624 deaths
2016: 570 crashes causing 602 deaths
New Jersey looks at these figures much deeper in their annual Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash Report. The most recent report available at this time is from 2021.
In 2021, roadway fatalities increased a frightening 18.7% over the previous year in the nation’s totals. There were 697 deaths in 2021 in New Jersey alone, 110 more than 2020. It is the highest number in 13 years.
Photo submitted by local resident
The 2021 report put some of the blame on COVID-19 regulations fading. Regardless, it was still estimated that it was the worst since 2005.
The report explained that this works out to an average of almost two deaths per day.
Of these deaths, 97 involved motorcycles, 36 involved tractor trailers, 26 involved bicycles, and 217 (almost one-third) were pedestrians.
There was alcohol involved in about 30 percent of the crashes, and in 12 percent of them, a driver was legally drunk.
Perhaps there are some trends that follow a pattern. For example, in 2016 and 2017 – locally and statewide – the numbers of deaths were very high before they dropped. Then, they rose again coming up to today. It could be that the statistics are cyclical and rise and fall regularly.
It’s not just in New Jersey. The nation saw an increase of 10.5% in fatalities from 2020 to 2021. There were 42,915 motor vehicle fatalities across the country in 2021.
Photo courtesy Ocean County Scanner News
While the statewide and countywide outlook seems grim, local statistics don’t paint the same picture.
In Toms River, for example, crashes were up by 6 percent from last year, according to police figures. This number only includes roadway accidents, not those in parking lots. However, they have decreased by 29 percent over the course of the last seven years.
Interestingly, the number of citations for the first half of the year are up by 28 percent, police said. So, it could mean that there is more enforcement to prevent crashes.
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