Cape May County’s most recent road death on Nov. 8 brought the number of county road fatalities to seven, the same number as that for all of 2023. Of those seven fatalities, four occurred in accidents on state highways 47 or 347.
The Nov. 8 crash involved a 38-year-old driver who lost control of his pickup truck while negotiating a turn, crossed the solid double yellow line and hit an unoccupied dump truck.
County statistics show that the seven fatal accidents each claimed the life of the driver only. State statistics tell a different story: Outside the county, there have been 583 road fatalities involving 310 drivers and 273 others, of which 181 were pedestrians. State pedestrian deaths are up 35% over last year.
Statewide numbers for 2024 have already surpassed totals for all of 2023 with six weeks remaining in the year.
A coalition of advocates is seeking legislative action to create a commission that would devise ways to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2040.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
