Tar is not the same as asphalt, although people often use the words loosely. Modern asphalt roads usually use bitumen as the binder, not true coal tar.
Everyday language makes this confusing. People talk about tar roads, tar spots, tarMac, asphalt, bitumen, and blacktop as if all the words mean the same thing. Historically, coal-tar products were used in some paving contexts, so the word tar survived in road language. Modern road asphalt is usually different.
Asphalt is commonly a mixture of mineral aggregate and a bituminous binder. Bitumen is typically a petroleum-derived material. Tar, in a stricter sense, is produced by destructive distillation of wood, coal, or other organic material. Road tar is often a colloquial phrase rather than a precise material name.
The difference matters because old tar-based materials and modern asphalt materials can have different chemistry, hazards, smell, repair methods, and disposal requirements. A driveway contractor, road engineer, heritage researcher, and homeowner may all use different vocabulary.
The short answer is no: tar and asphalt are not the same. But because language lags behind materials, the word tar is still often used casually for black road surfaces and sticky road residue.