New Jersey
New Jersey is located on the east coast of the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the north by New York, on the east by the beautiful Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Delaware, and on the west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania. Although it is the most densely populated state in the nation, New Jersey is known as the Garden State and has many blueberry farms and cranberry bogs in the southern portion of the state, an area that is commonly called South Jersey. The Jersey Shore is an extremely popular tourist destination.
New Jersey, population 8,707,739 (2009 U.S. Census), boasts a land area of 7,417 square miles. New Jersey has 1,135 persons per square mile, compared to the national average of 79.6 persons per square mile. Densely populated centers are located in the suburbs of New York City, mainly the northern communities just across the Hudson River, and in the communities just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, in the southwest area of the state.
The major cities of New Jersey include Trenton (the state capital), Atlantic City, Camden, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, and Patterson. The Garden State Parkway connects many of New Jersey’s major cities. No trucks are permitted on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. The New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) runs through the state from the north to the south. Interstates 80 and Interstate 78 are the primary routes heading to the west.
Trenton is located in New Jersey’s Mercer County, approximately 30 miles from Philadelphia. Trenton lies in almost the exact geographic center of the state, along the historic Delaware River bordering Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
New Jersey’s median household income is $70,347, significantly higher than the national average. While the state is home to a large number of pharmaceutical firms, New Jersey is considered a bedroom community for residents who work in New York City and Philadelphia. Shopping venues, such as upscale malls, dot the landscape. A significant number of large trucks are seen on New Jersey roadways; they are bringing consumers goods into New Jersey from the busy Port of New York and New Jersey.
New Jersey is connected to New York City via various bridges and tunnels. The George Washington Bridge, from Manhattan to Fort Lee, NJ, carries the heaviest load of motor vehicle traffic of any bridge in the world according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
New Jersey maintains an extensive roadway network for truck freight in addition to having the highest density of car ownership in the United States. Congested roadways are common, and New Jersey’s truck traffic is projected to grow by 80% over the next two decades (2005 Tri-State Transportation Campaign). The top five major roadways with the largest projected truck travel growth are Kaighn Avenue in Camden County at 549%, Crescent Boulevard in Camden County at 331%, U.S. Route 1 in Middlesex County at 321%, U.S. Route 1 in Mercer County at 277%, and Interstate 295 (South Jersey Expressway) in Mercer County at 254% growth. This growth in truck traffic will have an enormous impact on commutes in New Jersey with respect to traffic congestion and traffic safety. Specifically, per mile traveled, trucks are 20% more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than cars.
Already the main traffic corridors of New Jersey, especially those within the New York and Philadelphia metro areas, are burdened with a significant volume of truck traffic. Trucks contribute disproportionately to traffic crashes and deaths, traffic congestion, wear and tear on New Jersey roads and bridges, and air pollution.
The 2010 NJ Statewide Traffic Records Coordinating Committee reports that there were 24,225 traffic crashes in 2007 involving heavy trucks in New Jersey and that 5,099 of those involved injuries, and 71 of these injuries were fatal. Truck safety initiatives designed to lower these numbers include increased fines for overweight trucks and increased fines for faulty equipment, but these tragic deaths can be expected to grow more numerous as truck traffic increases.
In 2000, New Jersey had approximately 36,000 miles of rural and urban roads according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The Bureau reported that New Jersey truck drivers moved 230,155 thousand tons of freight in 2007. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2009 there were 828 New Jersey vehicle crashes that resulted in a fatality; large trucks made up almost 8% of these accidents. Truck accidents also represented larger percentages of fatal vehicles crashes that involved rollover or incidents of fire.
In 2008, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, reported 5,270 non-fatal truck crashes and 2,336 accidents that resulted in an injury. There were also nearly 3,000 truck crashes that involved having to tow away the vehicles. In 2008, driver-related factors included driver drowsiness, failure keep in the proper lane, careless operation, and overloading the vehicle. Weather conditions were also considered and rain was a contributing factor in 12% of truck accidents. The majority of truck accidents, both fatal and non-fatal, occur when there were dry road surface conditions. Wet conditions were the next category and contributed to 8.3% of fatal crashes and 16.8% of non-fatal truck crashes in 2008. The majority of truck crashes occurred on interstate highways or other large arterial roadways such as freeways or expressways.
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