26,223 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
2015

In 2015, motorists accounted for the largest number of both fatalities and injuries, with 47 killed and 9,114 injured. Among vulnerable road users, 15 pedestrians were killed and 280 were injured in traffic collisions. Additionally, one cyclist was killed and 122 were injured during the same period.

Crashes in Hartford County during 2015 followed distinct temporal patterns. The highest volume of crashes occurred on Fridays, with 4,525 incidents reported. The afternoon commute proved to be the most hazardous time of day, with the single peak hour being 3 PM, which saw 2,341 crashes. Overall, crash incidents rise during the morning commute, dip in the late morning, and surge between 3 PM and 5 PM.

The majority of crashes in Hartford County in 2015 did not result in physical injury, with 74.1% (19,422) being property-damage-only incidents. Injury crashes, including serious, minor, and possible injuries, accounted for approximately 25.6% of the total. There were 60 fatal crashes, which represents 0.2% of all crashes, and these incidents resulted in a total of 63 fatalities.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 60 fatal crash events resulted in 63 persons killed.

The majority of crashes in 2015 occurred in favorable environmental conditions. Approximately 70% of incidents (18,373) happened during daylight, 77% (20,169) on dry road surfaces, and 80% (21,029) in clear weather. Crashes in adverse weather included 2,363 in rain and 1,023 in snow, while 3,872 crashes occurred on wet roads.

Analysis of persons involved in crashes shows the 26-34 age group was the most represented, with 11,532 individuals, followed by the 45-54 age group with 9,699 individuals. Among vehicle makes involved in crashes, and combining common abbreviations, Honda was the most frequent (6,177 vehicles), followed by Toyota (5,700) and Ford (4,814).

Roadways with a posted speed limit of 25 mph saw the highest number of crashes, with 5,195 incidents, accounting for nearly 20% of the total. The percentage of crashes within a specific speed zone that resulted in a fatality tended to increase with higher speed limits. For example, while 0.15% of crashes in 25 mph zones were fatal, this rate was highest in 45 mph zones, where 0.96% of crashes were fatal.

The geographic distribution of crashes across Hartford County was concentrated in its larger urban centers. The city of Hartford alone accounted for 6,766 crashes, representing approximately 26% of the county's total. Other towns with high crash volumes included Manchester with 1,887 crashes (7.2%) and Bristol with 1,821 crashes (6.9%).

Among crashes where the road class was recorded, Minor Arterials were the most common location, accounting for 905 incidents. Limited-access highways, including Interstates (845 crashes) and Freeways/Expressways (467 crashes), collectively accounted for 1,312 crashes. Local roads were the site of 704 crashes.

Crashes were split between state-maintained and local roadways. State-maintained routes, which include State, Interstate, and US Routes, were the location for 14,114 crashes, representing 56% of incidents where the route system was identified. Local roads accounted for the remaining 44%, with 11,075 crashes.

The vast majority of crashes occurred on public roadways, totaling 24,892 incidents. A smaller but notable number of crashes, 701, took place on private property such as parking lots or private drives. This represents approximately 2.7% of crashes where roadway ownership was documented.

Based on the available data classifying crash locations, a significant majority occurred in urban areas, with 3,965 incidents. Rural areas accounted for 177 crashes, representing 4.3% of the crashes with a specified rural-urban designation.

A majority of crashes, 17,270 incidents, occurred at locations not classified as intersections. The remaining 8,919 crashes happened at or were related to junctions. Among these, four-way intersections were the most common site, with 4,831 crashes, followed by T-intersections with 3,674 crashes.

For crashes where the first harmful event was striking a fixed object, the most frequently hit object was a guardrail face, involved in 599 incidents. This was followed closely by utility poles or light supports, which were struck 570 times. Collisions with utility poles and trees combined accounted for 776 incidents, representing over 22% of these specific run-off-road type crashes.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 32,271 of all vehicles. Sport utility vehicles were the second most common with 8,340 involved, followed by pickup trucks with 3,182. Notably, 1,107 medium or heavy trucks, 707 buses of various types, and 301 motorcycles were also involved in collisions.

The most common scenario for crashes was at locations with no traffic control device, which was noted for 31,942 vehicles. For crashes at controlled locations, traffic signals were the most frequent type, present for 13,702 vehicles involved in collisions. An additional 3,386 vehicles were involved in crashes at locations controlled by a stop sign.

Among crashes specifically involving a vulnerable road user or motorcyclist, pedestrians were the most frequently involved group with 313 incidents. There were also 141 crashes involving bicyclists and 291 involving motorcyclists. Combined, pedestrians and bicyclists were involved in 454 crashes, representing about 61% of these specific incident types.

The most commonly cited driver action contributing to a crash was following too closely, attributed to 8,106 drivers, or nearly 17% of all drivers in crashes. The second most frequent action was failing to keep in the proper lane, recorded for 3,891 drivers. Failing to yield the right-of-way was the third most common contributing action, noted for 2,565 drivers.

While the majority of drivers were recorded as being in apparently normal condition, several impairing conditions were noted. The most frequent was driving under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol, which was a factor for 785 drivers. Driver fatigue or falling asleep was cited for 320 drivers, and an emotional state was a factor for another 279 drivers.

The most common pre-crash action for vehicles involved was traveling straight ahead, which was the case for 23,896 vehicles, or 47.7% of the total. The second most frequent situation was a vehicle being stopped in traffic, accounting for 5,869 vehicles. Turning left was the third most common pre-crash maneuver, recorded for 3,725 vehicles.

The front of the vehicle was the most common point of impact, recorded as "Sector 12 (North)" for 15,295 vehicles, representing 30.5% of impacts. The rear of the vehicle, "Sector 6 (South)," was the second most frequent impact point, involved in 10,686 collisions, or 21.3% of the total.

Among pedestrians involved in crashes where their action was documented, 231 were determined to have taken "No Improper Action." For those with contributing actions, the most common was "Failure to Yield Right-Of-Way," noted in 51 cases. This was followed by "In Roadway Improperly" with 43 cases and "Dart/Dash" with 41 cases.

The most prevalent type of collision was a front-to-rear crash, which accounted for 10,278 incidents, or 39.2% of all crashes. Angle collisions were the second most common type, with 5,288 incidents, representing 20.2% of the total. Sideswipes in the same direction were the third most frequent, occurring in 3,617 crashes.

Of the 68,494 individuals involved in crashes, drivers were the largest group, accounting for 47,937 people, or nearly 70% of the total. Passengers were the next largest group with 17,052 individuals. The data also includes 349 pedestrians and 144 bicyclists who were involved in these incidents.

Out of 68,494 persons involved in crashes, a total of 9,526 sustained some level of injury, representing 13.9% of all individuals. This includes 373 serious injuries, 3,374 minor injuries, and 5,779 possible injuries. A total of 63 individuals suffered fatal injuries.

Safety equipment usage was recorded for many vehicle occupants, with 49,908 reported to have used a shoulder and lap belt. Conversely, 1,224 occupants were documented as not using any form of restraint. Child restraints, including forward-facing, rear-facing, and booster seats, were used by a combined 1,840 occupants.

The vast majority of crashes, 20,029 incidents or 76.4%, involved two vehicles. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most common category, with 4,474 incidents, making up 17.1% of the total. There were also several multi-vehicle pile-ups, including one crash involving 9 vehicles and another involving 10 vehicles.