31,932 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
2018

In 2018, 65 motorists were killed and 10,808 were injured in New Haven County crashes. Vulnerable road users also faced significant risk, with 20 pedestrians killed and 415 injured. Additionally, one cyclist was killed and 128 were injured during the same period.

Crash frequency in New Haven County showed distinct temporal patterns in 2018. The highest number of crashes occurred on Fridays, with 5,362 incidents reported. The single busiest hour for crashes was the 5 PM weekday commute hour, which saw 2,973 crashes. Overall, crash volumes were lowest in the early morning hours between 2 AM and 4 AM, rising to a morning peak around 8 AM before reaching their highest levels during the afternoon commute.

Of the 31,932 crashes in New Haven County, the majority (74.4%) resulted in no apparent injuries. The remaining 25.6% of crashes involved possible, minor, serious, or fatal injuries. There were 82 distinct fatal crashes recorded, which resulted in a total of 86 fatalities, as a single crash event can involve more than one death.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 82 fatal crash events resulted in 86 persons killed.

The vast majority of crashes in New Haven County occurred in ideal driving conditions. Approximately 69.2% of incidents happened during daylight hours, 77.4% in clear weather, and 77.1% on dry road surfaces. Crashes in adverse conditions were less frequent, with rain being a factor in 3,854 incidents and wet roads present in 5,613 crashes.

Analysis of persons involved in crashes shows the 26-34 age group was the most represented, with 14,464 individuals. Among the 61,040 vehicles involved, the most frequent makes were Honda (5,468), Ford (5,087), and Toyota (4,816). These figures represent the makes of vehicles involved in collisions and do not reflect overall vehicle market share.

The highest number of crashes, 12,067 or 37.8% of the total, occurred in zones with a posted speed limit of 25 mph. While lower speed zones had more crashes, the percentage of those crashes that were fatal tended to increase with the speed limit. For instance, 0.21% of crashes in 25 mph zones were fatal, whereas this figure rose to 0.67% in 45 mph zones and 0.66% in 65 mph zones.

Within New Haven County, crash incidents were most concentrated in the city of New Haven, which accounted for 7,369 crashes, or 23.1% of the county's total. The next most frequent locations were Waterbury with 6,128 crashes (19.2%) and Hamden with 2,122 crashes (6.6%). Together, these three municipalities represented nearly half of all crashes in the county.

Crashes occurred most frequently on Minor Arterial roads, with 8,879 incidents, followed by Principal Arterials with 7,028. Combined, limited-access highways such as Interstates (4,138 crashes) and Freeways/Expressways (2,832 crashes) accounted for 6,970 crashes, representing 21.8% of the total where road class was specified.

Analysis of roadway jurisdiction shows a split between state and local responsibility. State-maintained routes, including State, Interstate, and US Routes, were the location for 16,424 crashes. This accounts for 53.8% of incidents with route system data, while local roads accounted for the remaining 14,082 crashes.

Of the crashes where roadway ownership was documented, the vast majority occurred on public roads (30,059). A notable subset of 1,364 crashes, or 4.3% of the total, took place on private property such as in parking lots or on private drives.

The data indicates that crashes in New Haven County are overwhelmingly an urban phenomenon, with 29,224 incidents occurring in urban-designated areas. In contrast, only 181 crashes, representing just 0.6% of the total where this was specified, were recorded in rural areas.

The majority of crashes, 21,034 in total, occurred at locations not classified as intersections. However, a significant number of incidents, 10,858 or 34.1% of the total, happened at junctions. Among these, four-way intersections were the most common crash site with 5,584 incidents, followed by T-intersections with 4,655.

Among crashes involving a collision with a fixed object, the most frequently struck objects were guardrail faces (758 incidents), other fixed objects like walls or buildings (722), and utility poles or light supports (520). Collisions with poles and trees were common, with utility poles (520), other posts (377), and trees (295) collectively being struck 1,192 times.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 37,700 of the 61,040 vehicles recorded. Sport Utility Vehicles were the next most frequent with 12,418 involved. Notably, 1,417 medium or heavy trucks, 546 buses of various types, and 326 motorcycles were also involved in collisions.

Based on the traffic control devices present at crash locations, vehicles were most often involved in crashes where no control device was present (39,313 vehicles). Locations with traffic signals accounted for 15,566 involved vehicles, while stop signs were present for 4,819 vehicles. This indicates a large number of incidents occur at uncontrolled locations or mid-block.

A total of 924 crashes involved either a vulnerable road user or a motorcyclist. Of these, pedestrians were involved in 447 incidents and bicyclists in 164. Combined, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 611 crashes, representing 66.1% of these specific incident types.

The most common contributing driver action cited in crashes was 'Followed Too Closely,' which was noted for 9,748 drivers, or 17.0% of all drivers. This was followed by 'Failed to Keep in Proper Lane' (6,156 drivers, 10.7%) and 'Failed to Yield Right-of-Way' (3,568 drivers, 6.2%). These actions represent the leading driver-related factors in reported collisions.

While most drivers were recorded as 'Apparently Normal,' several adverse conditions were noted. A total of 663 drivers (1.2% of all drivers) were suspected of being under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol. Additionally, 379 drivers were noted as being asleep or fatigued, and 284 were described as emotional.

The most common pre-crash action for vehicles was 'Straight Ahead,' accounting for 27,108 vehicles or 44.4% of the total. A significant number of vehicles were either 'Stopped in Traffic' (7,080) or 'Slowing' (4,388) immediately prior to the collision. Turning left was also a common pre-crash maneuver, noted for 4,359 vehicles.

The most frequent point of impact on vehicles was the front, which was struck in 17,437 instances, representing 28.6% of involved vehicles. The second most common impact point was the rear, with 12,015 instances. These two locations account for nearly half of all initial impacts.

While 247 pedestrians were determined to have taken 'No Improper Action,' several contributing actions were recorded for others. The most common improper action was being in the roadway improperly, noted in 69 cases. Other frequent actions included 'Failure to Yield Right-Of-Way' (58 cases) and 'Dart/Dash' into the road (47 cases).

The most prevalent type of crash was 'Front to rear,' accounting for 12,161 incidents or 38.1% of all collisions with a specified manner. The second most common type was an 'Angle' collision, with 6,322 incidents (19.8%). 'Sideswipe, same direction' crashes were also frequent, occurring 4,653 times.

Of the 80,483 individuals involved in crashes, the vast majority were drivers (57,248) or passengers (19,086). These two groups make up 71.1% and 23.7% of all persons, respectively. The records also include 556 pedestrians and 169 bicyclists.

Across all 80,483 people involved in crashes, 11,351 individuals sustained some level of injury, representing 14.1% of all participants. A total of 86 individuals, or 0.1% of all persons involved, suffered fatal injuries. The largest group, 66,026 people, had no reported injuries.

Among motor vehicle occupants where safety equipment use was recorded, 1,318 individuals were reported as not using any restraint system. This represents approximately 2.2% of occupants with known restraint use. The overwhelming majority, 52,586 people, were recorded as using both a shoulder and lap belt.

The vast majority of crashes, 24,656 or 77.2% of the total, involved two vehicles. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most common category, with 5,315 incidents, accounting for 16.6% of all crashes. Multi-vehicle pile-ups involving more than three vehicles were rare, with only 274 such incidents recorded.