Car Accidents in Whiteout Conditions
Everyone who went to driver’s ed in New Jersey knows the litany of admonitions about driving safely during or after a snowfall. Don’t drive unless you really need to. Clean your car thoroughly before you start driving, so that snow sliding down your front or back windshield does not distract you or obscure your view of the road. Drive slower than you normally would, slower than the speed limit. Keep your headlights on if it is raining or snowing, even in the daytime, and use your hazard lights if the visibility is especially bad. Pump your brakes instead of pressing on the brake pedal and holding it. These measures might keep you safe in a wintry mix, if the snow is just starting to stick, or if some of it melted and then refroze, and there is not quite enough salt on the road to melt all of the refreeze. In blizzards like the one that struck New Jersey this February, though, the best option is not to drive at all. The risk of collision is too high, and it takes longer for emergency personnel to reach injured or stranded vehicle occupants and attend to them. If you got injured in a car accident during a blizzard, contact a South Jersey auto accident lawyer.
Emergency Personnel Respond to Numerous Multi-Vehicle Collisions on New Jersey’s Major Roads During Blizzard
On February 22 and 23, 2026, the Northeast Corridor experienced its second major snowstorm in less than a month. In northern New Jersey, snow fell at a rate of more than two inches per hour during the worst parts of the storm. This caused whiteout conditions, where drivers could see less than 650 feet in front of them, even with their headlights turned to the brightest setting. Police responded to numerous accidents in Monmouth County and Ocean County during and immediately after the blizzard. The worst of these accidents were on I-80 and I-237. The Watchers, a website that reports news about extreme weather events all around the world, said that these accidents involved multiple vehicles, but it did not say how many.
If you get injured in a car accident, you can file a claim with your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, regardless of who is at fault for the accident. This is true no matter the weather conditions at the time of the collision. There is a risk that your injuries might be more serious if the accident happens in a snowstorm than if the speed and angle of the collision were the same in different weather conditions. This is because it takes longer for emergency personnel to respond and transport you to the hospital. Likewise, you could suffer additional injuries because of prolonged exposure to cold.
Contact Monaco Law About Car Accidents
Contact Monaco Law PC in Marlton, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to discuss your car accident case. Joseph Monaco is a New Jersey and Pennsylvania wrongful death and personal injury lawyer serving Atlantic County, Bucks County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Camden County, Chester County, Cumberland County, Delaware County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Philadelphia, Ocean County, Salem County, Susquehanna County and all of New Jersey.
Source:
watchers.news/2026/02/23/near-zero-visibility-and-multiple-accidents-reported-on-i-80-during-extreme-blizzard-in-new-jersey/
