Blink, blink, blink.

Vehicles whiz past for several minutes before the motorist gets up his nerve and floors it into heavy traffic.

"It's a fatality waiting to happen," said township resident Robert Hadley, who has watched the scene unfold many times at Route 54 and Jackson Road. "(You) don't see other cars coming from the other side. It's a hazard."

Township Committee agrees with him.

The board -- as it has done several times before -- recently asked the N.J. Department of Transportation to install a traffic signal at the intersection.

There currently aren't any traffic lights for a five-mile stretch of Route 54 through the township. Cars, many of them on their way to the Black Horse Pike or Atlantic City Expressway, travel between 50 mph and 70 mph.

Drivers on Jackson Road have to obey stop signs. There are none for Route 54 traffic.

There have been 12 accidents there in recent years, according to township statistics.

"There are many variations on the degree of accidents that can occur," Mayor Chuck Chiarello said. "The Department of Transportation feels they may not be better or worse depending on traffic signals."

Chiarello isn't optimistic.

Traffic signals are a $500,000 investment.

And a traffic study in May showed the intersection didn't meet Department of Transportation standards for traffic volume and frequency of accidents, according to spokesman John Dourgarian.

"From a traffic engineering viewpoint, we can't warrant the light," Dourgarian said.

Residents don't want to hear that.

Hadley considers it nearly impossible to cross from the Collings Lakes side of Jackson Road into Newfield, especially during rush hour.

And Newtonville Fire Chief Gene Sykes says heavy traffic on Route 54 can stall the firefighting process. It's too hard for fire engines to turn at the intersection, Sykes said.

A flashing yellow light 2,000 yards from the firehouse helps traffic on Jackson Road, Sykes said, but it doesn't do anything for the more hazardous intersection.

"Big rigs can't stop once they start crossing the road," Sykes said. "It makes it nearly impossible to get out to answer a call sometimes."