Worst of the worst: Readers ID treacherous Hunterdon roads

Submitted by New Jersey Truck Accident Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark
Originally published here.

truck accident new jersey

One person was entrapped in an accident involving a Honda Accord and a Ram pickup truck at the intersection of Route 31 and Country Club Drive in Clinton Township on Jan. 28, 2015. (Rich Maxwell | for Hunterdon County Democrat)

There are plenty of roads in Hunterdon County that people consider dangerous, but Route 31 tops the list for readers of NJ.com/hunterdon and the Hunterdon County Democrat’s Facebook page, particularly the stretch north of the Route 202-31 circle in Flemington.

An accident on Jan. 28 at the intersection of Route 31 and Country Club Drive in Clinton Township that required one driver to be extricated was the latest reported at that intersection, where 16 accidents have happened in the past year.

That prompted a query to readers: What’s the most dangerous stretch of road in Hunterdon? Here’s what they had to say:

Route 31

John Hyman: “There are many,, but my choice for the prze goes to Route 31 through Raritan Township/Flemington. Two lanes, then one lane, then two lanes, then one lane… through a far too narrow railroad trestle (often with pedestrian students) leading south into a left turn lane that is 50% too short, and then (oh boy!) the largest traffic circle this side of Piccadilly, built for horses and buggies.

Chris Hannemann: For state roads, pulling on to Rt 31 from Clinton Park and Ride is an unnerving experience. Many cars need to cross over two lanes to get on 78/22 east. I also never liked the stretch of Rt 31 in the south part of the county … Seems ripe for head on collisions.

thisguy1989: Rt 31 from the Warren County line in Hampton to Vansycles Rd in Lebanon Township is by far the worst. I don’t believe you will find another road in Hunterdon County that has more fatal accidents in the last 20 years in less than five miles as this stretch of road does.

Tony Giordano: My dad worked off Rt. 31 in the 70s and there used to be bumper stickers that read: Pray For Me, I Take Route 31 To Work.

jeepguy32: I’d have to put in a vote for 31 south into Flemington. Once you get past Payne Road, all of a sudden it becomes a Nascar track and people push it up to 70-75 mph until River Road. Then it goes in to one lane and you always get some idiot who wants to race up past you so they can get to the light half a second faster. Then by Sonic, you go back to 2 lanes until you get to BJ’s then even more idiots trying to rush up in the right hand lane and riding in the emergency lane because they just have to get there first. Heading north at this intersection is equally as ridiculous. Then at Pennsylvania Ave., you go back to one lane until Church Street where it’s again 2 lanes and a circle up ahead. On top of this nonsense, Flemington is determined to build as much as possible everywhere they can. It’s just going to get worse.

Natalie Yewshenko Ferry on Facebook: Route 31 and Cregar. There really should be a light there or no left turns. Even right turns are difficult. Also a left turn signal at 31 and Van Syckle. It’s almost impossible to make a left at the light. There is such a high volume of traffic on 31, updates throughout the county on 31 should be seriously considered.

Gordon Herbert on Facebook: Rt 31 from (Hunterdon Central) High School north to the river with the “I need to be in front of you” lanes.

Route 202

Painter in Jersey: I live near Route 202 in Hunterdon and can tell you without question PA drivers are the worst! The absolute worst. I see them driving aggressively, pushily riding close to vehicles to “send them a message” to move out of the way, and they drive through red lights on a regular basis. That includes truck drivers, too. Seen them go straight through red lights 3 or 4 seconds after intersecting traffic has the green light. Horribly dangerous.

I wish the cops would target PA drivers. They use Hunterdon County as a freeway to get to the New York money. They should pay a toll, as well.

shayzar: 202 south and the circles are a JOKE! A bunch of impatient idiots passing on the right.

Sourlander: 202 South going into the notorious Flemington Circle. Drivers at the stop sign on the circle just go whenever, and the circle has no lanes painted in it, even though there are two. It’s anarchy most of the time. I avoid it.

Samantha Joergens on Facebook: The Flemington Circle needs lines! How can the town be okay with the free for all going on every day there with drivers making up their own lines? Makes no sense…

Route 78

annomalley: Based on 30 years in the area, my vote goes to Exit 11 West on Route I-78 where the exit ramp crosses Route 173 westbound and merges with Route 173 westbound with only YIELD signs.

Chris Hannemann: There are different types of danger… The 11 mile stretch of Route 78 in Hunterdon County is the 2nd DEADLIEST stretch in the state with 7 dead in 5 accidents last year.

Jane Leuthauser on Facebook: Exit 18 of I78 area any weekday during rush hour. People don’t know how to use their signals changing lanes and they tailgate. Terrible area.

Route 22

Abner Watts: Rt 22. It is ridiculous to have a road with a 55mph speed limit (typically reserved for interstates) where the accepted method of turning left is a U-turn from the passing lane.

County Roads

Lou Judice on Facebook: The most poorly conceived stretch of road is 513 from the 78 overpass to the Wallmart/Shoprite entrances. In a short distance there multiple intersections, a major shopping center, a prison (who’s employees do not tend to mind traffic rules when they rush out of work), a bank, an entrance to 78, a restaurant and a hotel. Even the feeder roads are poorly designed – ie. two parallel entrances (to Walmart/Shoprite) and Cracker Barrel). The road is gridlocked much of the time and on two occasions I have nearly been t-boned by red light runners. Last night there were a herd of deer stuck in the intersection. How did this mess ever get approved???

Danielle Prosics Kearsley on Facebook: The County Route 618 light is way to short for crossing into 31. By the time I wait to make sure that everyone has stopped on 31 and I can proceed onto 31 it is turning yellow on me. It is a terrible design for those of us that are cautious pulling out. And people run the red pretty much every other time I am there, so I have to make sure to wait and watch. I am only talking seconds.

Leigh-Ann Fitzgerald Borella on Facebook: The intersection of Rt 523 and Rt 629 — horrible visibility and people driving way over the spead limit. There really needs to be a light at that intersection before someone gets killed.

Chris Hannemann: For the county and local roads the danger is deer which includes every road in the county.

It’s Not the Roads…

Don Joergens on Facebook: Wherever you happen to be driving…any texting, speeding, inconsiderate driver can turn a good road…bad.

Michael Rivera on Facebook: There are no bad roads in Hunterdon county only bad drivers. People run lights….so that makes the roads bad? Maybe the 2 to 1 lanes on 31….from Wawa to River road. They cause congestion that causes accidents….not roads fault if you rear end someone…

What do you think? Continue the conversation in the comments below.

More Hunterdon County news: NJ.com/hunterdonHCD Facebook

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Jeffrey Hark is a New Jersey Civil and Criminal Lawyer.

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