114,156 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
2018

In 2018, there were 299 total fatalities and 37,585 injuries from traffic crashes. Motorists comprised the largest group of fatalities with 235 deaths and 35,923 injuries. Vulnerable road users also faced significant risk, with 63 pedestrians killed and 1,304 injured, along with one cyclist killed and 353 injured.

Crash frequencies peaked on Fridays, with 19,122 incidents, and during the 5 p.m. hour, which saw 10,394 crashes. The data indicates that most crashes occurred in daylight, with 79,456 incidents (69.6%) happening under these conditions. Crashes in dark conditions, including both lighted and unlighted roads, accounted for 30,447 incidents.

The vast majority of crashes, 76% (86,755 incidents), resulted in no reported injuries. Injury-related crashes accounted for 23.7% of the total, encompassing serious (1%), minor (9.1%), and possible injuries (13.6%). There were 281 distinct fatal crashes, which resulted in a total of 299 fatalities, as a single crash can involve more than one death.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 281 fatal crash events resulted in 299 persons killed.

A substantial majority of crashes occurred in ideal driving conditions. Specifically, 77.1% of crashes (88,024) happened in clear weather, 76.3% (87,063) on dry road surfaces, and 69.6% (79,456) during daylight hours. Adverse conditions were less frequent, with 13,839 crashes in rain and 20,592 on wet roads.

Among all persons involved in crashes, the 26-34 age group was the most represented, with 48,383 individuals. The most common vehicle makes involved in collisions were Honda (21,681), Toyota (20,102), and Ford (20,008). These figures represent the frequency of involvement in crashes and not the manufacturer's market share.

The 25 mph speed limit zone saw the highest number of crashes, with 34,300 incidents, representing approximately 30% of all crashes. While crashes were most frequent in lower speed zones, the percentage of crashes that were fatal was higher in zones with faster posted limits. For instance, 0.657% of crashes in 65 mph zones were fatal, compared to 0.192% in 25 mph zones.

Crash distribution was heavily concentrated in three counties, which together accounted for over 82% of all incidents statewide. Fairfield County had the highest number of crashes with 33,653 (29.5%), followed by New Haven County with 31,932 (28.0%) and Hartford County with 28,787 (25.2%). The remaining five counties each accounted for less than 6% of the state's total crashes.

The top three cities for crash incidents were New Haven (7,369), Hartford (6,988), and Bridgeport (6,276). These three municipalities alone accounted for 20,633 crashes, representing 18.1% of the statewide total. Waterbury (6,128) and Stamford (5,169) also reported high crash volumes.

Crashes were most prevalent on arterial roadways, with Minor Arterials accounting for 30,341 crashes and Principal Arterials for 24,406. Combined, these arterials were the site of 47.9% of all crashes. Limited-access highways, including Interstates (15,430) and Freeways/Expressways (8,695), collectively accounted for 21.1% of crashes.

An analysis of crashes by the route system shows a split between state-maintained and local roadways. Approximately 54.7% of crashes (62,433) occurred on state-maintained routes, which include State, Interstate, and US Routes. Local roads accounted for 40.0% of crashes, with 45,712 incidents.

Among crashes where the roadway type was specified, the vast majority occurred on public roads. There were 107,160 crashes on public roads, while 4,771 incidents, or 4.1% of the total, occurred on private property such as parking lots or private drives.

The data indicates a significant disparity in crash locations between urban and rural settings. Urban areas accounted for 100,948 crashes, while 4,686 crashes, or 4.3% of those with a defined location type, occurred in designated rural areas.

A majority of crashes, 66.4% (75,786), did not occur at an intersection. However, a significant number, totaling 37,054 crashes (32.5%), happened at or were related to a junction. The most common junction types for crashes were four-way intersections (18,992) and T-intersections (16,733).

Among crashes involving a single vehicle striking a fixed object, the most commonly hit objects were guardrail faces (2,901), other fixed objects like walls or buildings (2,653), and utility poles or light supports (2,256). Collisions with utility poles and trees combined accounted for 3,737 of these incidents, representing a notable subset of run-off-road crashes.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 128,212 of the 215,793 vehicles involved (59.4%). Sport Utility Vehicles were the second most common, with 46,278 involved (21.4%). Medium and heavy trucks were involved in 5,047 incidents, while motorcycles were involved in 1,142.

Based on data for vehicles involved, 66.3% of vehicles (142,738) were in a crash where no traffic control device was present. Approximately 25.1% of vehicles (54,140) were involved in crashes at locations with a traffic control signal. Crashes at stop signs involved 16,342 vehicles.

The data identifies 3,019 crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists. Among these, pedestrians were involved in 1,472 incidents and bicyclists in 433. Together, these vulnerable road users accounted for 1,905 incidents, representing 63.1% of this specific crash group.

Among the 99,107 instances where a contributing driver action was recorded, 'Followed Too Closely' was the most common, cited in 33,758 cases. 'Failed to Keep in Proper Lane' was the second most frequent action with 20,408 instances, followed by 'Failed to Yield Right-of-Way' with 11,881 instances.

While most drivers were recorded as 'Apparently Normal,' a contributing condition was noted for 7,164 drivers. The most common of these conditions was being 'Under the Influence of Medications/Drugs/Alcohol,' reported for 2,885 drivers. Other noted conditions included 'Asleep or Fatigued' (1,555 drivers) and 'Emotional' (932 drivers).

The most common pre-crash action for drivers was 'Straight Ahead,' recorded for 96,773 vehicles, or 47.4% of those with a known action. The second most frequent action was 'Stopped in Traffic' with 24,408 vehicles (12.0%), followed by 'Turning Left' with 16,230 vehicles (7.9%).

The front of the vehicle was the most common point of impact, recorded as 'Sector 12 (North)' in 61,633 instances, or 28.6% of impacts. The rear of the vehicle, 'Sector 6 (South),' was the second most frequent impact point, occurring in 43,220 cases (20.1%), consistent with the high number of front-to-rear collisions.

For pedestrians involved in crashes, 'No Improper Action' was the most frequent assessment, noted in 822 cases. Where an improper action was recorded, 'Failure to Yield Right-Of-Way' was the most common with 197 instances, followed by 'In Roadway Improperly' with 190 instances and 'Dart/Dash' with 134.

The most frequent type of crash was a 'Front to rear' collision, which accounted for 42,221 incidents, or 37.0% of all crashes. 'Angle' collisions were the second most common type, with 22,223 incidents, representing 19.5% of the total.

Of the 282,425 individuals involved in crashes, the majority were drivers, accounting for 204,767 people (72.5%). Passengers made up the next largest group with 64,323 individuals (22.8%). Pedestrians and bicyclists constituted a smaller but significant portion, with 1,638 and 442 individuals respectively.

Out of 282,425 people involved in crashes, 37,884 individuals sustained some level of injury or were killed. This includes 299 fatalities (0.11%), 1,362 serious injuries, 13,620 minor injuries, and 22,603 possible injuries. The vast majority of people involved, 234,757 individuals, were not injured.

Restraint use was recorded for 230,781 vehicle occupants. The data shows that 196,389 occupants used both a shoulder and lap belt. However, 4,986 occupants were recorded as using no safety restraint at all, representing 2.2% of occupants with known restraint use.

The majority of crashes, 75.3% (85,989 incidents), involved two vehicles. Single-vehicle crashes accounted for 18.5% of the total, with 21,175 incidents. Crashes involving three or more vehicles were less common, though the data includes two incidents that involved 10 vehicles each.