New Jersey Target Zero Commission reports progress toward eliminating traffic deaths by 2040
NEW JERSEY – The New Jersey Target Zero Commission held its first public hearing of 2026 this week, providing an update on efforts to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries statewide by 2040 and gathering feedback from the public.
The hearing, held Tuesday, Sept. 1, provided an update on work completed since the Target Zero Action Plan was adopted in December 2025.
“We have made meaningful progress in building the framework and the tools to address traffic fatalities and serious injuries on New Jersey’s roads,” NJDOT Commissioner Priya Jain said. “This hearing gives us an opportunity to take stock of that progress, highlight the work underway in 2026, hear directly from the public, and continue turning our shared commitment into action.”
As part of legislation establishing the commission, the New Jersey Department of Transportation has developed and launched the state’s High Injury Network and a public safety dashboard. The tools bring crash and roadway data together to help local officials, safety advocates and the public identify areas where fatal and serious-injury crashes are concentrated.
The High Injury Network identifies 145 one-mile roadway segments, including 88 on state-maintained roads, according to NJDOT.
The department said it has 217 existing projects in various stages of development for 80 of those state roadway segments and is initiating new safety projects for the remaining eight. There are also an estimated 600 individual intersection improvement projects.
The Target Zero Action Plan is organized around the Safe System Approach, with categories covering safer people, roads, speeds, vehicles and post-crash care. The plan also includes recommendations involving safer land use and coordinated implementation, including policy, investment, data, project delivery and collaboration among agencies and other organizations.
The commission’s goal is to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries on New Jersey roads by 2040.
The second public hearing of 2026 is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5, at Rowan University.
