I could lay out a multitude of reasons why I think the Garden State is so great, as I have done here repeatedly. This new article gives me yet another reason to be so proud to live here; according to a study by the Fang Law Group, six of the most dangerous U.S. intersections are in New Jersey, with two of those being tied for the most dangerous in America.
How’s that for bolstering your motoring abilities in a Darwinian driver-of-the-fittest reality check!?
The stats were tabulated thusly (and I mainly just wrote this sentence so I could use the word ‘thusly’); in the continental U.S. we have 15.8 million intersections (go figure) and of these what Fang considered ‘dangerous’ were the ones where there were at least three fatal crashes (bringing the number down to slightly higher than 1,800 from that big 15+ number). This translates to only 0.1% of U.S. intersections making the deadliest, so I guess, in some places, we are being careful while we drive (go figure). Under these metrics, the survey/study found, that New Jersey lays claim to the three deadliest intersections in America, with three more of them making the top 30.
Are you interested in trying your luck driving through a few of them?
Along Route 129 in Trenton, there is a senior center across the street from a shopping center, on this road that comes off one of our state highways into a residential intersection. This #1 Trenton spot (and how prouder can we be than the intersection being in the state capital?) is tied in a battle for deadliest with, Rte. 1&9 and East Jersey Street is Elizabeth. This area in Elizabeth reported nine fatalities in the period studied. Coming in at #3, is Rte. 70 and Massachusetts Ave in Toms River and tied for #25 (just to show you we pop out of the top ten) is US Route 1 and North Oaks Blvd., North Brunswick.
Even at #25, this spot still boasted an impressive six fatal accidents.
As I have repeatedly said, if you can drive in New Jersey you can pretty much drive anywhere. I was spirited in a taxi in Florence when the driver drove his Fiat up a sidewalk to avoid a crowded piazza. I have been in LA in the heart of that city’s rush hour. I have even skirted a dangerous one-lane road around Lake Tahoe looking to pay a visit to Micheal Corleone. But here, we have it all. Rude drivers, manic speed demons, construction obstructions, and now it seems the deadliest intersection in the country.
Really, I couldn’t be prouder.
