Analysis conducted by ACLU-NJ and ACLU National using the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST), available here.

Included in this report are the following analyses:

• Vehicles with Equipment Issues Involved in Fatal Crashes: Select “Vehicles” Page. Select Time Frame: 2010-2023. Select State or Region: State: New Jersey. Filter Your Selection: Characteristics/Event: Vehicle: Vehicle Characteristics/Event: Contributing Circumstances, Motor Vehicle: Head Lights, Signal Lights, Other Lights, Mirrors, Windows/Windshield.
• Speeding Involved in Fatal Crashes: Select “Crashes” Page. Select Time Frame: 2010-2023. Select State or Region: State: New Jersey. Filter Your Selection: Crash: Specific Scenario/Event: Involving Speeding: Yes.
• Distracted Driving Involved in Fatal Crashes: Select “Crashes” Page. Select Time Frame: 2010-2023. Select State or Region: State: New Jersey. Filter Your Selection: Crash: Specific Scenario/Event: Involving A Distracted Driver: Yes.

Methodology adapted from Center for Policing Equity, “Factsheet: Which Stops Impact Serious Crashes,” available here.

Analysis conducted by ACLU-NJ, ACLU National, and Arjun Badami, Phoebe Marwill, and Isabella Nadeau in completion of coursework for the Master of Public Affairs degree at Brown University's Watson School of International and Public Affairs. Analysis used New Jersey State Police data from the New Jersey Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards (OLEPS), available here. Analytical sample consisted of 6,240,279 traffic stops conducted by the New Jersey State Police from January 2009 to May 2021. Blank data for stop outcome variables (E.G. “PersonSearch” and “EvidenceSeizure”) were assumed to be a value of 0. The analysis retained the racial categories provided in OLEPS’s data to maintain data integrity.

Included in this report for both overall traffic stops from January 2009 to May 2021 and for specific traffic violations from January 2009 to May 2021 are the following analyses:

• Stop Share by Race: Proportion of drivers stopped by driver race, indicated by “DriverRace.”
• Search Share by Race: Proportion of drivers searched, as indicated by “PersonSearch,” “VehicleSearch,” and “ConsentRequest,” by driver race.
• Contraband Found by Race: Proportion of traffic stops that included contraband discovery, as indicated by “EvidenceSeizure,” “TotalParaphrenalia,” “TotalPossession,” and “TotalWeapons,” by driver race.
• Hit to Search Ratio by Race: The number of stops that led to contraband discovery divided by the number of stops that led to searches, by driver race.

Specific violations analyzed include the following:

• N.J.R.S. 39:3-33 (License plate violations), n= 80,717
• N.J.R.S. 39:3-34 (Vehicle registration), n= 51,156
• N.J.R.S. 39:3-66 (Light violations), n= 274,229
• N.J.R.S. 39:3-74 (Windshield obstruction and tinting), n= 60,637
• N.J.R.S. 39:3-75 (Glass violations), n= 132,082
• N.J.R.S. 39:3-126 (Failure to signal), n= 82,761
• N.J.R.S. 39:8-1 (Vehicle inspection), n= 47,663

Analysis conducted by ACLU-NJ, ACLU National, and Arjun Badami, Phoebe Marwill, and Isabella Nadeau in completion of coursework for the Master of Public Affairs degree at Brown University's Watson School of International and Public Affairs. Analysis used US Census Bureau American Community Survey data from 2009-2021, accessed through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS USA).

IPUMS USA: Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Grace Cooper, Julia A. Rivera Drew, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rodgers, Jonathan Schroeder, and Kari C.W. Williams. IPUMS USA: Version 16.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V16.0

Analysis estimated the racial composition of New Jersey drivers from 2009-2021 through analyzing car access by race. Car access was estimated by whether the individual lived in a household with at least 1 vehicle, as indicated by “vehicles,” and was over 18 years of age, as indicated by “age,” meaning that they could possess an unrestricted driver’s license in New Jersey.

Analysis is based on 611 interviews conducted by YouGov on the internet of registered voters. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, and U.S. Census region based on voter registration lists, the U.S. Census American Community Survey, and the U.S. Census Current Population Survey, as well as 2020 Presidential vote and approximate 2024 Presidential vote based on available results. Respondents were selected from YouGov to be representative of registered voters. The margin of error (a 95% confidence interval) is approximately 4.6%.