By John Spinelli
As children head back to school next month the topic of safe driving may be on parents’ and school administrators’ minds.
In 2020, the latest year data is available from the state, there were 13,058 crashes in Monmouth County. There have been 20 fatal vehicular accidents in the county (five in towns in The Two River Times readership area) so far this year, leaving 20 dead, including eight drivers, four passengers, two bicyclists and six pedestrians. One of those happened in Middletown in July when a 40-year-old woman riding her bike was struck and killed at the intersection of Chapel Hill Road and Route 35.
In 2022 there were 46 fatal crashes that left 54 dead.
Unfortunately, roadside incidents and motor vehicle accidents are common on Two River-area roadways. As reported in an article last week, residents in Rumson have become increasingly concerned about speeding drivers on Rumson Road.
“We often – and certainly should – receive a lot of state funds for our roadways,” state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon told The Two River Times. He explained that the money in the state budget is divided by the number of highways in a district. Since the Two River area has routes 35, 36 and 18 and the Garden State Parkway, “we receive a good amount every year,” he said.
“We are always actively and open to improving the roadways as much as we can,” O’Scanlon said. “Feedback is important. We have the best NJDOT traffic safety and civil engineers that continue to improve, but unfortunately there will always be human error.”
O’Scanlon offered some advice to drivers and pedestrians in the Two River area that he gives his own family. “Last year, I taught my daughter how to drive and I said, whenever you are driving – pay attention and make mental notes of what’s ahead. Anticipate hundreds of yards down the road – it could be a bicyclist, motorcyclist, or someone crossing the street.”
Another avenue to safer driving is completing a driving class to improve skills that may become rusty over time. Defensive driving courses are offered by area driving schools and can often lower car insurance rates.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office Division of Highway Traffic Safety has a Don’t Drive Distracted campaign that urges drivers to “See Your Future. Focus On Driving,” “Share The Dream Of No More Crashes” and “Imagine Your Future Without Distractions,” among other slogans, aimed at reducing crashes by getting drivers to pay attention to the road and their surroundings.
According to the department’s website, a study from 2011 through 2020 showed many crashes in the state shared an uncomfortable statistic – more than half involved a distracted driver, including a third which were fatal.
Other data from the study showed about 45% of all distracted driving crashes happened between noon and 6 p.m., a timeframe that includes afternoon school runs, sports practices and after-school activities. Nearly the same percentage of pedestrian-involved incidents also came from distracted driving.
Some Two River towns have already taken the initiative to support safer roads for both pedestrians and bicyclists. Fair Haven is known for giving nondrivers utilizing its streets a lot of leeway. The town even has a yearly tradition of third graders from Viola L. Sickles riding their bikes to Knollwood School as a kind of “graduation” ceremony.
The article originally appeared in the August 17 – 23, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
