Major Crackdown On Impaired Drivers Begins Along NJ Interstate

NORTH JERSEY — New Jersey troopers are teaming up with neighboring states to crack down on dangerous driving and prevent fatal crashes on a major interstate this week.

"Operation Blarney Stone" is a multi-state effort to get impaired drivers off the road and reduce collisions along the Route 80 corridor, said state police. The initiative will begin Monday and continue over the next several days, with New York and Pennsylvania State Police joining troopers from the Garden State.

Statistics from state police show that there have been three fatal crashes on I-80 so far in 2024. Last year, there were 12 fatal collisions recorded along the interstate, which was the highest number since 2019. Six of those fatal crashes took place in Morris County.

Here is the number of fatal crashes on I-80 for the past five years in New Jersey, according to New Jersey State Police:

• 2023: 12
• 2022: 10
• 2021: 10
• 2020: 7
• 2019: 13

In the Garden State, I-80 runs from the Pennsylvania state line at the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge to the New Jersey Turnpike — a total of 68.35 miles, spanning Warren, Sussex, Morris, Essex, Passaic, and Bergen counties.

Related articles:

• Ejected Driver Dies, 3 Others Injured In Parsippany I-80 Crash (Feb. 2023)
• Juvenile, Adult Killed In Wayne Crash Early Sunday: NJ State Police (May 2023)
• Driver, 92, Dies After Wrong-Way Crash In Wayne Tuesday: State Police (June 2023)
• Woman Killed In 2-Vehicle Crash In Morris County (Nov. 2023)