The Dangers Of The New Jersey Turnpike Are Real

The New Jersey Turnpike has a wide variety of nicknames, including “The Big Road,” “The Black Dragon,” and “The Monster Road.” The roadway has reportedly earned its various nicknames not only because of it’s history, but also because of how dangerous it is.

According to ABC News, the New Jersey Turnpike first opened to traffic sixty-three years ago, and remains one of America’s best-known and “most daunting thoroughfares.” The highway reportedly has a speed limit of 65 mph at it’s fastest points, but that doesn’t keep traffic from spiking and surpassing 80 mph at times. The size of the highway and the number of drivers on the road make it a dangerous roadway.

“There are so many lanes, and the speed that drivers can attain, things happen very fast,” said retired New Jersey State Police Major Al Della Fave said to ABC News. “Multiple lanes, high volume. So when somebody makes a mistake it’s almost certain to be serious.”

It’s not only the everyday citizens that worry about having to drive the New Jersey Turnpike. According to ABC News, even police officials try to avoid using and being assigned to patrol the roadway. Those who are assigned to “The Monster Road” reportedly wear their experiences “as a badge of honor.”

“It’s always been a real source of pride for someone to say ‘I worked The Black Dragon,” said Fave. “They don’t even allow troops to go out there too soon — they want you to have minimum 18 months experience before you’re even allowed to patrol The Turnpike.”

With speeds well over the speed limits of 65 mph, its no wonder there are a number of accidents, many with fatalities. The latest fatality was this past Saturday when comedian Tracy Morgan’s limo bus was involved in a six-car pileup on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The Inquisitr has been following the accident involving Tracy Morgan very closely since the accident occurred early Saturday. The accident, which reportedly involved an SUV and two tractor trailers, took place in the northbound lane at mile marker 71.5 at about 1 am. In total, six cars were involved in the accident, which resulted in multiple injuries and one death.

Morgan was lifted by helicopter to a hospital and hours after the accident, The Inquisitr reported that the comedian was alert and able to speak to family members. A friend who took Morgan’s ex-wife, Sabina Morgan, to visit at Robert Wood Johnson University in New Brunswick, said the 45-year-old actor was looking well despite his injuries.

“He’s got a brace on his neck, but he’s smiling,” said the friend.

While Tracy Morgan was lucky to survive the incident on the New Jersey Turnpike, friend and fellow comedian, James McNair was killed. According to an earlier report by The Inquisitr, the driver of the tractor-trailer that ran into Morgan’s limo bus has been identified as 35-year-old Kevin Roper, who has been charged by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office with one count of death by a vehicle and four counts of assault by a vehicle after he allegedly dozed off while driving, which caused the six-car pileup.

Stay with The Inquisitr as more information regarding the New Jersey Turnpike accident becomes available.

[Image by Andrew F. Kazmierski / Shutterstock.com]