Injured during a Paramus shopping trip? Help after a Route 4 or Route 17 crash
Route 4 and Route 17 hold 52 percent of all Paramus crashes: 2,252 in 2023 and 2024, most of them rear-end or lane-change collisions. They peak in December and between 3 pm and 6 pm, the shopping hours.
Hurt in a crash on Route 4 or Route 17 while shopping in Paramus? A 30-second questionnaire checks whether a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.
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How many crashes happen on Route 4 and Route 17 in Paramus?
Police recorded 2,252 crashes on the two highways inside Paramus in 2023 and 2024, and 442 of them hurt or killed someone.
Route 17 carries the larger share. Both roads rose again in 2025, Route 4 most of all: from 430 crashes in 2023 to 530.
See the full table
| Road | Crashes 2023 and 2024 | Someone hurt or killed | People injured | Crashes 2025 (preliminary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route 17 | 1,354 | 266 | 380 | 722 |
| Route 4 | 898 | 176 | 237 | 530 |
| Both roads | 2,252 | 442 | 617 | 1,252 |
How much of Bergen County's Route 4 and Route 17 toll falls inside the borough is on our Paramus crash data page. Countywide totals sit on the Bergen County crash hub.1
When are shopping-trip crashes most likely on these roads?
In the holiday season and the late afternoon. December had more crashes than any other month, and the 3 pm to 6 pm window had more than any other.
- December: 248 crashes, about a third above the monthly average of 188.
- November and December together: 478 crashes, 21 percent of the year in two months.
- 3 pm to 6 pm: 617 crashes, 111 of them with someone hurt.
- Saturday: fewer crashes than any weekday (303), but 25 percent hurt someone, against 18 percent on weekdays.
- Sunday: 145 crashes, less than half the total of any weekday.
Hour and month patterns for the whole state are in when most car accidents happen in New Jersey.
Which Route 4 crossings in Paramus see the most crashes?
Spring Valley Road leads by crash count, but Paramus Road had the most crashes that hurt someone.
See the full table
| Cross street | Crashes | Someone hurt or killed |
|---|---|---|
| Spring Valley Road | 85 | 15 |
| Paramus Road (County Route 62) | 65 | 17 |
| Fairview Avenue (County Route 61) | 64 | 11 |
| Forest Avenue (County Route 59) | 48 | 10 |
| Route 17 (Ridge Road) | 42 | 5 |
| Garden State Parkway | 32 | 6 |
Route 17's own ranking, led by West Midland Avenue and Century Road, is on our Route 17 crash data page. West of Paramus, Route 4 had 223 crashes in Fair Lawn over the same two years; see Fair Lawn crash data.
Who is at fault when you are rear-ended or cut off on Route 4 or Route 17?
Fault is split by percentage among every driver whose conduct caused the crash, and you can still recover if your share is 50 percent or less.
Rear-end crashes made up 1,224 of the 2,252 on the two roads, and two out of three of those that hurt someone. Same-direction sideswipes, typical of lane changes toward an exit or store entrance, added 764.
- Rear-end, retail lane. In Lamothe v. Huggins (2025), a driver hit three times from behind in a drive-thru won $930,500 for permanent neck injuries. The appeals court upheld it.
- Lane change, no contact. In Williams-Siraj v. Schwartz (2025), a driver swerved onto a curb to avoid a lane-changer. She lost because she could not prove that driver caused her injuries.
Our rear-end crash guide for New Jersey covers fault splits behind you. The side-impact collision guide covers sideswipes.2
Do I need to call the cops if I get rear-ended on Route 4 or Route 17?
Yes if anyone is hurt or killed, or if damage to any one person's property tops $500. The driver must tell police right away.
On Route 17, only 10 of 3,855 crash records from 2023 and 2024 name a State Police station, so in Paramus the report usually sits with Paramus Police. They take requests on their police reports page. Wait times and every other agency are in our New Jersey crash report guide.3
Paramus shopping-trip crash questions
Who is most at fault in a rear-end collision?
Often the driver behind, but not always. New Jersey splits fault among every driver whose conduct caused the crash. In Lamothe, the driver hit from behind kept a $930,500 verdict on appeal.
What if the other driver cut me off but never touched my car?
You can still claim, but you must prove that driver caused your injuries. In Williams-Siraj, a driver who swerved onto a curb to avoid a lane-changer lost on exactly that point.
Can you sue someone if they hit you in a parking lot?
Yes, if their carelessness caused your injury. Lot crashes often have no police report; see what to do after a parking lot accident in New Jersey.
How long after a car accident can you sue in NJ?
Usually two years for an injury lawsuit against the other driver. The exceptions are in our New Jersey statute of limitations guide.
Still sorting out bills and the insurer after a Paramus highway crash? Answer a few short questions, about 30 seconds, to see if 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.
Riders' medical bills are covered in our passenger injury guide. Every topic is listed in our New Jersey car accident help guide. Injuries Cases Autos is not a law firm.
Sources
- NJDOT crash records 2023 to 2025, with fatal crashes from NJ State Police fatal crash statistics; our count for Paramus Borough. Retrieved 2026-11-10.
- New Jersey Appellate Division, Lamothe v. Huggins, A-1342-23 and Williams-Siraj v. Schwartz, A-3828-22, both 2025; N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1.
- N.J.S.A. 39:4-130, Justia 2025 edition; Paramus Police Department, police reports. Retrieved 2026-11-10.
How we counted
- Crash numbers: our count of NJDOT records for Paramus Borough, as normalized by the open-source NJ Crashes project, complete years 2023 and 2024, plus preliminary 2025, selected by route number 4 or 17.
- "Hurt or killed" means at least one person injured or killed. Months, hours and weekdays use 2023 and 2024.
- Cross streets use 2024 and 2025 as police spelled them (Route 17 is often coded as Ridge Road), so totals are a floor.
- Counts are police-reported crashes, not rates, and say nothing about fault, claims or payouts.
- Cases come from our file of unpublished 2025 Appellate Division opinions. General information, not legal advice.