How to Read an NJ Crash Report: Boxes, Codes and Examples

What do the codes on an NJ police report mean?

They are numbered entries that mean something only inside their box: Box 86 is physical condition, Box 105 crash type, Box 144 the diagram and Box 145 the narrative.

Box 105 records the crash type of the first event. We matched its common codes to NJDOT's crash records for 2023 and 2024, so you can see how often each type ended with someone hurt.

Left turns are rare but the most likely of these to injure someone. Rear-end crashes are the most common type and caused the most injury crashes.

Right-angle crashes (code 03) caused the most deaths, 147; our side-impact collision guide covers those claims. Later impacts after the first event show up in the narrative, not in Box 105.²

Which manual matches your report?

Match the manual to your form, because a generic online code list may decode the wrong layout: the narrative box moved from Box 135 to Box 145.

Use the January 1, 2023 manual, Edition 2.0, for reports on the current form. Use the older field manual, where the crash description sits in Box 135, for older reports.³

What do codes 03, 04 and 05 mean in the injury box?

In Box 86, physical condition, 03 means suspected minor injury, 04 possible injury and 05 no apparent injury at the scene.

Box 86 is the officer's view at the scene, not a diagnosis. For pain that began later, see how long crash symptoms can take to show up and our list of records for a New Jersey injury claim.⁴

Is Vehicle 1 the driver who caused the crash?

No. A vehicle number is an identifier that links each driver, owner and passenger to the diagram and narrative; it is not a fault finding.

Follow your number through every entry; an owner listed apart from the driver is only identified, not blamed. Our guide to what evidence proves fault in NJ covers what weighs beyond the report.

How do you read the diagram and the narrative together?

Match the vehicle numbers in Box 144, the diagram, to the account in Box 145, the narrative, then compare both with the Box 105 code.

Worked example for a rear-end crash (our rear-end crash guide for New Jersey covers the claim side):

1. Find your vehicle number from the driver and vehicle details on the front.
2. Check Box 105. Code 01 means a same-direction rear-end first event.
3. Read Box 144. Follow the same numbers in the drawing and note any attached diagram.
4. Read Box 145. Separate the physical facts, what each driver or witness said and the officer's own evaluation.
5. Write down any mismatch, such as a vehicle number that does not fit the narrative.

The manual's example diagram is marked not to scale, so do not measure speed or distance from it. If vehicles moved before the officer arrived, the drawing may be representative, with the reason given in the narrative.⁵

What does an asterisk in the insurance section mean?

It flags a situation the officer explains in the narrative; on its own it does not prove the other vehicle was uninsured. The manual lists several uses of the asterisk in insurance information, so the narrative tells you which one applies.

What if your NJ crash report is wrong or incomplete?

Ask the agency that wrote it about a correction or supplement, naming the exact box or passage in question.

A mention of photos does not mean they are attached: serious or fatal crash files are a separate records request outside the basic NJTR-1.

Still need the report itself? Our guide on how to get your New Jersey car accident report lists each agency's route and fee, and the NJ crash report finder names the likely agency by town or road. For how fault percentages change a payout, see real NJ fault splits.⁶