By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media

Last year, was the deadliest year on New Jersey roads since 2007 with 624 people dying in traffic crashes across the state.

Driver behavior is the the common factor safety experts cite when asked about reasons for the increase in fatal crashes.

Distracted driving has been ranked by State Police as the leading contributing factor in fatal crashes for six years running.

State Police said speeding was second most common factor in fatal crashes in their most recent analysis of traffic fatalities. Experts said speed amplifies the severity of a crash from injury to death, especially when a pedestrian or cyclist is involved.

And impaired driving still remains a leading cause of traffic fatalities, despite the best efforts of police and the safety community to combat it.

The following list is complied from state Department of Transportation crash statistics for 2017, which were released in October. New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway statistics came from the State Police.

This ranking is based on the total number of fatal crashes on a given highway and only lists those with the highest number of traffic fatalities.

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16. (tie) Route 440: Five fatalities.

This 11-mile highway starts at the end point of I-287 in Middlesex County. Roughly, 111,505 vehicles a day travel it.

The five traffic deaths are significant because the NJDOT reported there were no deaths on Route 440 in 2016.

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16. (tie) I-287: Five fatalities.

The death toll on I-287 dropped between 2017 and 2016, when seven people were killed in crashes.

I-287 certainly has the traffic, with almost 114,000 vehicles a day recorded on one section in Middlesex County. But this busy highway also links to the New York Thruway and the Tappan Zee bridge, accounting for a fair amount of through traffic.

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14: (tie) Route 42: Six fatalities.

This 14-mile long highway between Gloucester and Camden counties connects I-76 and 295 to the Atlantic City Freeway. It had two more fatal crashes in 2017 than it did in 2016.

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14: (tie) Route 73: Six fatalities.

Just short of 29 miles long, Route 73 runs between Atlantic County and the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge which carries Route 73 over the Delaware River and connects it to Route 73 in Pennsylvania.

Drivers tend to use it as a route to Philadelphia that bypasses Camden. Fatalities on Route 73 increased by one death between 2016 and 2017.

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12: Route 55: Seven fatalities

Conditions improved on Route 55 from 2016, when 11 people were killed in traffic collisions, including a former Miss New Jersey and Miss America contestant.

However, officials are seeking some improvements, including completing the highway to finally go to the Jersey shore as it was intended to do.

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11: Route 70: Eight fatalities

An 81-year old Whiting woman was killed on Dec. 11, 2017, on Route 70 in Manchester after her Toyota Echo collided head-on with a mini van.

This 69-mile long highway spans Monmouth and Camden Counties. Eight people were killed in 2016.

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10: Route 27: 10 fatalities.

Route 27, which stretches for 52 miles, passes through town centers and shopping districts.

While it doesn’t see the traffic volume or speeds of larger highways, drivers have to be aware of other vehicles turning in and out of parking lots and side streets. The death toll on Route 27 remained the same between 2016 and 2017.

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(Rich Maxwell | for NJ Advance Media)

9: (tie) I-78: 11 fatalities

A Warren County man was killed after his car rear-ended a tractor-trailer on I-78 east in Bethlehem Township on April. 10, 2017.

This 55-mile highway spans the state from the Delaware to the Hudson River, if you count the Hudson extension of the New Jersey Turnpike, which is also designated as I-78.

It also sees some monster daily traffic volumes higher than 156,000 vehicles on some sections. I-78 had one more fatality last year than the 10 people killed in crashes during 2016.

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9: (tie) Route 9: 11 fatalities.

This 127-mile highway spans three quarters of the state from Cape May to the George Washington Bridge.

Route 9 has its heaviest traffic volume in southern Middlesex and Monmouth counties. It also say traffic deaths increase from 11 people who were killed in crashes in 2016.

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7: (tie) Route 130: 13 fatalities.

This 80-mile long state highway also saw fatalities spike between 2017 and 2016. Eight people were killed on Route 130 in 2016.

Safety officials have called Route 130 in Burlington County the most dangerous road in the state for pedestrians for six years running. They've lobbied and worked with the state DOT to get safety improvements.

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(Michael Mancuso | For NJ.com)

7: (tie) I-295: 13 fatalities.

A 50-year-old man was killed in a two vehicle collision on I-295 north in Hamilton after he was thrown from his Jeep on Dec. 27, 2017.

This busy interstate saw a significant jump in the death toll from fatal crashes last year. In 2016, I-295 had seven fatalities.

One reason is heavy traffic, including places in Camden County, where the average daily traffic volume tops 113,000 vehicles.

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7: (tie) Route 30: 13 fatalities.

The good news behind this grim statistic is that fewer people died on Route 30 last year than the 17 people who were killed in crashes in 2016.

But this 60-mile south Jersey highway saw enough to rank it among the deadliest highways in the state.

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4: Route 1: 15 fatalities.

This sprawling 65-mile long highway runs between Trenton and the George Washington Bridge.

Fatalities increased from 11 in 2016 to 15 people killed in crashes last year.

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(NJ.com file photo)

3: I-80: 16 fatalities.

A New York State woman was killed after she was thrown from the Mercedes-Benz she was a passenger in after it collided with a car on I-80 in Knowlton on April 3, 2017.

This busy 68-mile long interstate bisects the northern part of the state. I-80 moves a heavy volume of traffic between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers.

The average daily traffic on one section of the highway in Passaic County topped 145,000 vehicles. Last year saw an increase in traffic fatalities from the 10 people killed in 2016.

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2: New Jersey Turnpike: 21 fatalities

This seems like a no-brainer because the New Jersey Turnpike is a massive 148-mile long highway, counting its two major connecting roads. The turnpike has heavy truck traffic and is a through route for I-95 traffic.

Last year, 21 drivers were killed in fatal crashes on the Turnpike, the same number of people who died on the highway in 2016, according to State Police statistics. The Turnpike was also ranked second deadliest highway in the state in 2016.

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(NJ.com user submitted photo)

1: Garden State Parkway: 25 fatalities.

Two people were killed in this crash between a GMC SUV and a Chevy Camaro on the Garden State Parkway in Aberdeen on Jan. 29, 2017.

The 173-mile Parkway led the state in fatal crashes last year.

One of the primary reasons was record breaking traffic volumes. In 2016, the Parkway saw a 2.7 percent increase in traffic over 2015 and that volume increased in 2017.

The good news is that the number of traffic deaths decreased from 32 people killed in 2016, according to State Police statistics.

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Read more:

The deadliest N.J. counties for crashes in 2018, ranked from least to most so far.

More people died in traffic crashes than have in a decade.

A big reason truckers hate driving in Jersey.

As pedestrian deaths spike in NJ, safety experts urging trying Vision Zero.

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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

