NJ drunk driving accident help: your options if you were hurt
The other driver's DWI case does not decide your injury claim. Your own PIP pays eligible medical bills whoever was at fault, and pain and suffering comes from a separate claim against the drunk driver's insurer. Police flagged alcohol on 12,472 New Jersey crashes in two years.
Hurt by a driver who had been drinking? A 30-second New Jersey questionnaire checks whether a lawyer's office may review a claim against the other driver's insurance for free.
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How many New Jersey crashes involve alcohol?
About 6,200 a year: police flagged alcohol on 6,159 crash reports in 2023 and 6,313 in 2024, roughly 2.4 percent of all crashes.
See the full table
| Year | Crashes flagged alcohol | Someone killed or injured | People killed | Fatal crashes flagged / all fatal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6,159 | 2,395 | 74 | 69 / 574 |
| 2024 | 6,313 | 2,463 | 80 | 76 / 651 |
| 2025 (preliminary) | 6,242 | 2,431 | 81 | 75 / 554 |
If a drunk driver killed someone in your family, see wrongful death claims for NJ families.
When do drunk driving crashes happen in NJ?
11 percent of crashes between midnight and 6 am carried the alcohol flag, almost five times the daily average.
See the full table
| Time of day | Alcohol-flagged crashes | Share of all crashes in that window |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight to 6 am | 3,919 | 11.3 percent |
| 9 pm to midnight | 3,065 | 7.8 percent |
| 6 pm to 9 pm | 2,259 | 3.0 percent |
| Noon to 6 pm | 2,233 | 1.0 percent |
| 6 am to noon | 996 | 0.7 percent |
Friday 6 pm to Sunday 6 am held 4,901 flagged crashes, about two in five of the total. Sunday (2,742) and Saturday (2,705) were the top days.
The crash types differ too: 4,521 flagged crashes hit a fixed object, and 6 percent of all head-on crashes carried the flag, more than double the state rate.
All-crash and fatal-crash peaks by hour are on when most NJ car accidents happen.
Where do drunk driving crashes happen in NJ?
Mostly on local streets: 7,939 of the 12,472 flagged crashes in 2023 and 2024 were on municipal or county roads. Highways held fewer but deadlier ones.
See the full table
| County | Alcohol-flagged crashes | Share of the county's crashes | People killed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex | 1,310 | 2.3 percent | 9 |
| Union | 999 | 2.4 percent | 7 |
| Bergen | 985 | 1.8 percent | 7 |
| Monmouth | 973 | 3.0 percent | 11 |
| Essex | 820 | 1.7 percent | 6 |
| Ocean | 804 | 2.7 percent | 8 |
| Camden | 737 | 2.6 percent | 15 |
| Passaic | 688 | 2.0 percent | 7 |
| Atlantic | 642 | 4.0 percent | 17 |
| Cumberland | 389 | 5.2 percent | 5 |
| Cape May | 221 | 4.6 percent | 2 |
| Salem | 166 | 5.1 percent | 9 |
State highways, interstates and authority toll roads had 4,413 flagged crashes but 87 of the 154 deaths. County roads added 51 more; municipal streets, with the most crashes, had 16.
By road name, the Garden State Parkway had the most, 375, counting records NJDOT files under its SECONDARY listing. Among state roads with 40 or more flagged crashes, the Atlantic City Expressway had the highest share: 95 of 1,179, 8.1 percent, over three times the state rate. See Atlantic City Expressway crashes and Garden State Parkway crashes.
Newark (349), Woodbridge (225) and Paterson (214) had the most flagged crashes of any town. Among towns with 40 or more, Hammonton, Bridgeton, Long Branch and Lower Township ran above 7 percent.
Cumberland had the highest share in the state, 5.2 percent, and Middlesex the highest count, 1,310. All-crash data for both is on the Cumberland County hub and the Middlesex County hub.
Who pays your medical bills if a drunk driver hits you?
Your own PIP pays first, whoever was at fault. The drunk driver's liability insurer pays pain and suffering and losses PIP leaves, and your UM or UIM steps in if they had no insurance or too little.3
Limits and co-pays are on PIP limits and medical bills; an uninsured drunk driver is covered on uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
Can you sue a drunk driver for pain and suffering in NJ?
Yes. Whether you can claim pain and suffering depends on the lawsuit option on your own policy, not on the other driver's drinking; lost wages and unpaid bills are never limited.
Both options and the injuries that qualify are on New Jersey no-fault and the lawsuit option.
Does a DWI charge prove the other driver was at fault?
No. A criminal charge is not a fault ruling for insurance. DOBI says insurers assign fault from all the facts, including police reports and statements, so the charge and any test result are evidence.4
If the insurer blames you in part, your share cuts what you recover; see how partial fault splits work in New Jersey.
Can the drunk driver make a claim against you?
Yes, if that driver has not been convicted of DWI or pleaded guilty. The 2023 Castano ruling said a hospital blood test alone was not enough to stop the drunk driver's own injury claim.
The test showed a high alcohol level, and the claim still went ahead. Other rulings on who can claim are in the NJ car accident appeals index.5
What should you do after a drunk driver hits you?
Do not wait for the DWI case to finish; the insurance claims run on their own clock.
- Get the police report. The alcohol flag and any test the officer ordered are recorded there; see how to get your NJ car accident report.
- Note whether you were parked or on foot. 2,416 flagged crashes hit a parked vehicle and 331 involved a pedestrian, 298 of them with someone hurt or killed; see claims after a pedestrian crash in New Jersey.
- Keep your records together. Treatment notes go to your PIP claim; see medical records for an NJ injury claim and evidence that helps prove fault.
- Check your deadline. The clocks by claim type are on the NJ car accident statute of limitations.
Before signing any release, read our questions to ask before accepting a settlement offer. More topics are on the New Jersey car accident help hub.
Drunk driving accident questions people ask
Is a DUI or a hit and run worse for my claim?
If the drunk driver fled and is never found, there is no liability insurer to claim against. PIP still pays your medical bills, and pain and suffering usually goes through your own uninsured motorist coverage. See hit and run claims in NJ.
Should I get a lawyer if a drunk driver hit me?
Consider one if you were hurt and you reject the adjuster's fault percentage, threshold view or offer. The 7 signs you may need an accident lawyer page sets out when it matters.
How long do I have to sue a drunk driver in NJ?
Usually two years for an injury lawsuit, and the DWI case does not pause it. A crash involving a public body has a much shorter notice deadline. All the deadlines are in our NJ deadline table.
Was the other driver drinking and you were hurt? Answer a few short questions, about 30 seconds, and a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.
Start the New Jersey accident quiz
Advertisement. Opens the New Jersey questionnaire. Review its policies and contact consent before submitting your details. No legal advice or guarantee of acceptance or compensation.
Sources
- NJDOT crash records (2023 per-table archive; 2024 and 2025 NJDOT Crash Data Portal), normalized by the open-source nj-crashes project, fatal crashes supplemented from the NJ State Police feed. Read 2026-11-11.
- NJDOT crash records, 2023 and 2024, normalized by the open-source nj-crashes project; county, road system and road name as recorded on each police report. Read 2026-11-11.
- DOBI, New Jersey Auto Insurance Buyer's Guide 2026, pp. 2, 3 and 8. Read 2026-11-10.
- DOBI, Everything You Wanted to Know About Auto Insurance (2026), pp. 26 to 27. Read 2026-11-10.
- Castano v. Augustine (N.J. App. Div. 2023), slip opinion (Rutgers Law Library). Read 2026-11-10.
How we counted
We counted every crash in the NJDOT records for 2023 to 2025 where the police report's alcohol-involved field was set. The field is filled for every 2023 record and nearly every 2024 and 2025 record. Time, crash-type, county and road splits use 2023 and 2024, the complete years; road names follow the police report.
The flag is what the officer recorded, not a test result, charge or court finding. These are counts, not rates, and say nothing about fault in any one crash or what a claim is worth.