Route 46 crash near Little Falls: help for an injured passenger or family member

Where on Route 46 in Little Falls do crashes happen?

At five crossings: Clove Road has the most crashes, Lower Notch Road the most injury crashes. Together they account for 351 of the 432 Route 46 crashes in the township.

That is 39% of all 1,104 crashes in Little Falls, and no one was killed in them. With 86 injury crashes, the township ties Wayne's crash data for fifth place on the whole road. The full ranking is in our Route 46 accident data across New Jersey.

How are passengers hurt in Little Falls Route 46 crashes?

Mostly from behind. 16 of the 22 crashes that injured a passenger here were rear-end collisions, and 3 were sideswipes.

Rear-end crashes make up 64% of the township's 86 injury crashes on Route 46, against 50.6% on the whole road. 23 of the 86 happened between 3 pm and 6 pm.

The driver behind is not automatically the one at fault. Who is most at fault, and what to do right after being hit, are in our rear-end crash guide. Pain that starts later is covered in how long car accident symptoms can take to show up.

Passengers were 25 of the 117 people hurt, about 21%, against 27.0% statewide. Three crashes injured two or more passengers at once; how they share one driver's limit is in several passengers hurt in one car.²

Was the other car merging near the Route 3 split?

Sideswipes were 98 of the 432 Little Falls crashes, second only to rear end. Many cluster on the stretch NJDOT is rebuilding around the Route 3 interchange.

NJDOT's project runs from just east of Browertown Road (milepost 58.76) to Rock Hill Road (milepost 60.58). It treats the Notch Road and Rifle Camp Road interchange separately from the Route 3, Route 46 and Valley Road interchange.

That stretch had 409 crashes in 2023 and 2024, 89 with someone hurt: 295 in Little Falls and 112 in Clifton.³

Two details matter most in a Little Falls side hit:

• whether your driver was moving toward the Route 3 branch or staying on Route 46;
• whether the other car came from an entry lane or from another through lane.

The full method for a merge account is in Woodland Park car accident help, and side hits in our side-impact collision guide. Nearby data: Clifton car accident data and Route 3 accident data.

Can a passenger sue the relative or friend who was driving?

Yes. If your driver caused the crash, your claim runs against their liability insurance, which handles the claim and their defense up to its limits.

The rest of that answer, including court rulings, is in can a passenger sue the driver. Before anyone signs, read the settlement questions guide.

What should a passenger check next?

Five things, each covered in depth on its own page:

• Medical bills: PIP pays no matter who caused the crash; see PIP or health insurance first and PIP limits and deductibles.
• The police report: DOBI says to check how many passengers were listed; fees and routes are in the New Jersey car accident report guide.
• Pain and suffering: the named insured's lawsuit option decides it; see New Jersey no-fault rules.
• Deadlines: see New Jersey car accident deadlines.
• Missed work: see the lost wages guide.⁴

General next steps are in the New Jersey car accident help guide. Injuries Cases Autos is not a law firm.