Unfortunately, Garden State Parkway (GSP) are all too familiar to tourists, travelers, and drivers across New Jersey. This transportation artery spans more than 172 miles from the New York state line at Montvale to the southernmost tip of New Jersey. The Parkway was built in 1947 and is managed by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The GSP is the state’s longest and busiest road. It travels through 10 New Jersey counties beginning in Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Union, and Middlesex, continuing through Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington and Atlantic and ending in Cape May County.

While trucks and commercial vehicles are prohibited north of Exit 105 at Asbury Park, car and pedestrian accidents are common throughout the 172-mile highway. High-speed crashes related to distracted driving and unsafe speeds are common, particularly during Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. Some common causes of accidents on the Garden State Parkway are:

Wide toll plazas with booths for tickets, EZ-Pass, exact change, and purchases create traffic hazards where cars search for the appropriate booth and then return to a limited number of lanes. Data from a six-year period for the Garden State Parkway showed that 5,290 car/truck collisions occurred less than half a mile from a toll plaza, which is nearly 70 percent higher than accident rates for other parts of this New Jersey highway.

As aggressive Garden State Parkway accident lawyers, we take note of the troubling statistics for fatal accidents on the GSP accidents. Middlesex, Essex, and Monmouth counties have a disproportionate rate of fatal car and truck accidents. In 2011, 11 deaths from automobile and truck accidents occurred on the GSP in Essex County. This includes two pedestrians, four passengers, and five drivers. Middlesex had five fatalities during the same period, including four drivers and one passengers who were killed in car and truck collisions.

Determining liability and recovering compensation for New Jersey highway accidents is a complex process. At Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, our Garden State Parkway accident attorneys are experts in handling these types of New Jersey accident cases.

We’ve achieved justice and record-setting verdicts by gathering information quickly, documenting the scene and using accident reconstructionists to prove cases in court. We aggressively fight for accident victims and we are committed to recovering compensation for our clients’ injuries, medical expenses and lost income. We have also been named to the Best New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyers list by the Best Lawyers in America publication.
If you or a loved one were injured on the Garden State Parkway, contact the GSP accident lawyers at Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman. We will reply to answer your questions and discuss your case.