Morris County Ranks Among Top NJ Counties For Deer Crashes:Report

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Morris County hit the top five list of New Jersey counties that have recorded the greatest number of deer crashes statewide, AAA Northeast says.

According to a recently released report from AAA Northeast, Morris County ranks fourth in the number of deer crashes New Jersey counties experienced between October and December 2019, the most recent data it had available.

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Statewide in that time period, there were 4,753 run-ins with deer, which calculates to once every 28 minutes. About 77 percent of those crashes happened in the dark, AAA indicated, most between 6 and 8 p.m.

The counties with the highest amount of deer collisions in New Jersey from October through December 2019 were:

• Monmouth - 539
• Burlington - 419
• Somerset - 386
• Morris - 352
• Hunterdon - 339

Deer crashes in each Morris County town are below, with Washington Township the highest ranked for the period of October through November 2019, a AAA spokesperson told Patch:

Washington Township - 39
Roxbury - 30
Mount Olive - 29
Parsippany-Troy Hills - 27
Randolph - 25
Jefferson - 23
Montville - 16
Chester Township - 15
Morris Township - 15
Denville - 12
Hanover - 12
Rockaway Township - 11
East Hanover - 9
Lincoln Park - 8
Wharton - 8
Florham Park - 7
Pequannock - 7
Harding - 7
Morristown - 6
Boonton - 5
Morris Plains - 4
Chester Borough - 4
Mount Arlington - 4
Mendham Township - 4
Mine Hill - 3
Boonton Township - 3
Chatham Borough - 3
Chatham Township - 3
Madison - 2
Butler - 2
Riverdale - 2
Mountain Lakes - 1
Mendham Borough 1
TOTAL: 352

AAA reports top towns in New Jersey from October through December 2019 are:

• Jackson Township (Monmouth) – 86
• Readington Township (Hunterdon County) - 76
• Bridgewater Township (Somerset County) - 67
• Marlboro Township (Monmouth County) - 66
• Franklin Township (Somerset County) – 60
• Raritan Township (Hunterdon County) - 59
• Vineland City (Cumberland County) - 58
• Hillsborough Township (Somerset County) - 57
• Wayne Township (Passaic County) - 55

“Drivers need to be especially vigilant and anticipate deer darting into the roadway, especially during the early morning and evening hours,” said AAA Northeast's Senior Manager of Media Relations, Robert Sinclair Jr, in a news release.

AAA Northeast, a not-for-profit auto club, offers the following tips to “best avoid deer crashes,” that include:

• Never driving drowsy or distracted at high speeds.
• Never swerving if a deer hit can’t be avoided.
• Swerving right could lead a driver into a tree, ditch or light pole.
• Swerving left could lead into a head-on crash.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.