Traffic fatalities in New Jersey decreased in 2018

According to the State Police, traffic deaths went down in the Garden State for 2018 by about 9%. After rising in 2017, the number of people who died in traffic accidents fell in 2018 from 624 to 566.

Of those 566, 278 were the driver, 96 were passengers and 176 were pedestrians. Among drivers who died, 51 were between the ages of 50-64, 50 were were between 30-39, and 43 were aged 65-79. For passenger deaths, the largest demographic was a tie: 65-79 and 21-24.

The State Police only released the statistics with no commentary, so the reason or reasons for the drop are up for speculation. New Jersey is typically among the safest states when measured by deaths per 100,00 miles driven (believe it or not). National fatal accident statistics have not been released for 2018 yet.

More from New Jersey 101.5