NJTP

As I crossed the Pulaski Skyway bridge this morning and came down the slight decline toward where the road splits into 1/9 local and express, I saw a vast sea of tail lights washed across all 6 lanes and realized the cars in front of me were quickly locking up their brakes.

This rarely happens - usually, it's just one side of the split that is seized up and when that happens, 9 times out of 10 it's on the side I don't travel. So when I saw what was ahead of me this morning, I knew I was screwed.

I sat in a dead standstill for a good 40 minutes until my anxiety got the best of me and I went on autopilot, meaning I directed my car to the berm and drove as far forward as I could. When I could go no farther, I piloted my GTI (with its ridiculous low profile tires) across the medium curb and muttered a prayer that I wouldn't have a blow out.

Once on the other side, I crept along at a snail's pace toward the Wilson Street/Newark exit, my GPS on and ready to navigate me through the streets of Newark to an exit farther south on the TP. Finally, 75 minutes after leaving my house, I entered the TP at exit 13a.

That's when I saw the accident. See the pic above? Well, pin a car by its driver's sides to the bed of that rig and add another few in a pile up behind it. Then, imagine the traffic backed up from Exit 13 to Exit 9 and you may understand the severity of the accident.

It was gruesome. I'm still sick to my stomach and my head hurts: I burst into tears upon first glance, knowing there is no way the driver survived and if by grace he or she did, I can't imagine in what condition.

Two nights ago, one of my favorite people called to tell me that the guy she had been seeing had been killed in a car accident - 20 minutes after dropping her off at her dorm room. Where did the accident take place? Yep, Route 1/9, near the TP, in Elizabeth.

So, What's La Pointe of It All? Well, it's this: NJ has some of the most dangerous roads in the country and frankly, some of the most anxious drivers. Commuting is a game of Russian roulette and I'm tired of feeling a barrel pressed to my head for two hours a day, five days a week, ten months a year. It's just asking for trouble.