The New Jersey State Police report that it was a relatively safe Fourth of July weekend on Garden State highways and other roads.

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Capt. Steve Jones, NJSP spokesman, said there were two highway fatalities this Fourth in New Jersey, compared to one last year.

"This year, we lost one pedestrian in a crash in Lacey Township, in Ocean County," Jones said. "The other was the driver of a passenger car in Franklin Township, Gloucester County."

Both of those deaths occurred on July 5, so the day of the Fourth, and the preceding Friday, were clean with no fatalities. These numbers are preliminary.

Jones said 2015 is trending as a slightly safer year than 2014 was, overall.

"This year, 249 people have died so far on New Jersey roadways throughout the entire state," he said. "Last year, year-to-date, we had 267. We are down 6.7 percent -- that means 18 (fewer) people have died this year, to date, than died last year in 2014."

State and local police are doing their best with enforcement strategies, according to Jones, to crack down on aggressive, drunk and distracted drivers.

"Really, it all comes down to personal choices," Jones said.

Every personal choice, he said, is bad if it involves speeding, driving aggressively, or drinking and driving. It could be that choice that ultimately leads to another death on the road.

"So unfortunately, no matter how much enforcement we have out there, it doesn't always make a difference," Jones said. "We will probably never, unfortunately, reach zero fatalities."

Still, he said, the NJSP would like to see a fatal-free Fourth in any given year.

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