New Jersey is taking a decisive step toward eliminating all traffic fatalities and serious injuries by the year 2040 with the unveiling of the draft 2026 Target Zero Action Plan.
A New Framework for Safety
The Action Plan is built upon the established principles of the USDOT’s Safe System Approach, with an important local emphasis on Safer Land Use and Coordinated Implementation. This comprehensive strategy outlines a commitment to real change, featuring 68 distinct actions designed to pursue the “Target Zero” goal. The Commission aims to finalize this ambitious Action Plan by the end of the year.
The High Injury Network
A core element of the plan is the development of the High Injury Network (HIN). This network represents the true focus point for the Commission and the NJDOT, ensuring that safety projects and resources are prioritized where they are needed most.
- Current Status: The draft HIN is currently limited in scope, restricting its focus to 140 1-mile corridors across State and County Roads. You can view the current map here.
- The Action Plan calls for a strategy to integrate this state-level network with existing Municipal, County, and Regional HINs, such as DVRPC’s Regional High Injury Network, to create a unified, multi-tiered safety system across the state.
Transparency Through Data: The Crash Data Portal
One of the earliest and most impactful implementation projects is the creation of the Crash Data Portal. This initiative is designed to be a publicly accessible data hub that promotes transparency and informs future planning. Currently, fatal crashes are reported by the NJ State Police in PDF format. However, our advocacy partners at Hudson County Complete Streets maintain a webpage that taps into the source data to create a more usable format for data enthusiasts, but is not easily visualized on a map.
The portal is tentatively scheduled to be made public by the end of the year and will include critical information such as:
- Data on the most dangerous intersections in the State.
- Comprehensive traffic crash data, including details on non-fatal injuries.
- Demographic data related to crashes.
- The interactive high-injury network.
Action Plan Highlights
The Draft Action Plan proposes several critical initiatives focused on equity, infrastructure, and rapid implementation:
- Integrated Planning and Equity: The plan calls for the creation of a Statewide Greenway Network Plan and a process to formally integrate trail and greenway planning into safety projects. Furthermore, it emphasizes identifying the overlap between overburdened communities and the High Injury Network (HIN) segments to ensure equitable resource allocation.
- Infrastructure Safety: The Commission proposes supporting the installation of Lateral Protection Devices (sideguards) on applicable government and contracted motor vehicles. It also commits to expanding the use of protected bike lane designs at intersections to significantly increase visibility and reduce conflicts between road users.
- Rapid Implementation: A key strategy is the development of a statewide “quick build” pilot program. This program will use temporary, low-cost materials to quickly implement traffic calming measures on HIN streets. Projects that prove successful can then be upgraded, or “hardened,” with more permanent capital infrastructure following a comprehensive evaluation.
DRAFT NJ Target Zero Action Plan 2025 uploaded by John Boyle
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