Don't Do The 'Jersey Slide': This Driving Maneuver Could Cost Lives

New Jersey is home to Atlantic City, two NFL teams (the Jets and Giants), the rock band Bon Jovi, and is where FM radio was invented. It's also the only state where it's still illegal to pump your own gas. Beyond all this, though, New Jersey is also home to some of the worst drivers in the country, a designation supported by multiple sources. According to LendingTree's 2025 study of the best and worst drivers in America, New Jersey had 58.8 driving incidents per 1,000 drivers, only outdone by North Dakota (with 64). What's more, it was the only state with an accident rate above 30 per 1,000 drivers, with 31.5.

Need more convincing? After looking at 2025 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Consumer Affairs (via Asbury Park Press) determined that four Garden State towns — Camden, Lakewood, Newark, Trenton — were all in the top 10 list of Northeastern cities with the worst drivers. Lastly, World Population Review ranked New Jersey second (behind New York) for having really, really bad drivers. As if that all wasn't bad enough, New Jersey's Garden State Parkway is one of the scariest roads in the U.S., according to drivers.

Therefore, it shouldn't come as a shock that the state is associated with a particularly dangerous driving move. The "Jersey Slide," as it's called, isn't so much a technique or a maneuver (because those terms qualify it as a condoned and practiced move) as it is a wildly unsafe attempt at either getting off the freeway at the last second or slicing through traffic faster — usually without using a blinker, mind you. Not only can this reckless behavior cause a multi-vehicle accident, but it can also take someone's life.

This breach of civil driving goes by other names, like the "Jersey Shuffle," "Jersey Cut," or the "Jersey Swerve," but they all point to careless driving. Whatever the name, chances are you've seen someone perform this audacious daredevil stunt, no matter where you live. It could just as easily be called the California Slide, the Texas Shuffle, or the Florida Swerve. The term "Jersey Slide" has been around since at least 2004, according to Urban Dictionary, specifically in relation to drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, one of the scariest roads in the U.S.

The video above is a perfect illustration. A driver in the fast lane uses the Jersey Slide to cross three lanes of traffic, then immediately whips back across those same lanes — all in an effort to pass a single vehicle. At least they used their blinker. Still, this reckless behavior can create even more chaos on highways already chock-full of hazards and other free-wheeling drivers.

While there's no specific law making it illegal, New Jersey Revised Statutes §39:4-88 requires that drivers keep to the right unless passing another vehicle. At the very least, it could be construed as reckless driving (§39:4-96), with drivers liable to spend up to 60 days in the county or municipal jail, be fined anywhere between $50 and $200, or both. Getting caught doing it more than once can land you in jail for three months and cost you up to $500 (plus attorney fees).