8,623 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
APRIL 2018

Motor vehicle occupants constituted the largest group of casualties, with 23 people killed and 2,643 injured. Among vulnerable road users, pedestrians were the most impacted, with 4 fatalities and 87 injuries. There were no fatalities among cyclists, though 16 were injured.

Crash frequency peaked on Monday, which saw 1,584 incidents, and during the 3 p.m. hour, which recorded 758 crashes. The afternoon commute period, from 2 p.m. through 5 p.m., showed a sustained high volume of collisions. Overall, 6,681 crashes, or 77.5% of the total, occurred in daylight conditions.

The vast majority of crashes, 76.3% (6,579), resulted in no injuries and involved only property damage. Crashes involving possible, minor, or serious injuries accounted for a combined 23.4% of all incidents. A total of 25 separate crashes were classified as fatal, which resulted in 27 fatalities, indicating some crashes involved more than one death.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 25 fatal crash events resulted in 27 persons killed.

Most crashes occurred in favorable conditions, with 71.6% (6,173) happening in clear weather and 72.4% (6,247) on dry road surfaces. Daylight was the lighting condition for 6,681 crashes, or 77.5% of the total. Nevertheless, adverse conditions were a factor in a notable number of incidents, with 1,335 crashes occurring in rain and 1,951 on wet roads.

Among all persons involved in crashes, the 26-34 age group was the most numerous, with 3,681 individuals. An analysis of the 16,268 vehicles involved shows the most frequent makes were Honda (1,653), Toyota (1,488), and Ford (1,477). The majority of these vehicles (14,973) were in operation at the time of the collision.

Roads with a posted speed limit of 25 mph had the highest number of crashes, with 2,610 incidents, making up 30.3% of the total. While crashes were more frequent in lower speed zones, the percentage of crashes that were fatal tended to increase with the speed limit. For instance, 1.824% of crashes in 45 mph zones were fatal, compared to 0.192% in 25 mph zones.

Crash incidents were heavily concentrated in three of Connecticut's eight counties. Fairfield County reported the highest number with 2,529 crashes (29.3% of the state total), followed by New Haven County with 2,471 (28.6%) and Hartford County with 2,124 (24.6%). These three counties together accounted for over 82% of all crashes in the state.

At the municipal level, the highest crash volumes were recorded in the state's most populous cities. New Haven led with 630 crashes, followed by Bridgeport with 523 and Hartford with 508. These three cities alone accounted for 1,661 crashes, representing 19.3% of the statewide total for the month.

Arterial roads were the site of the largest portion of crashes, with 2,227 on minor arterials and 1,884 on principal arterials, collectively accounting for 47.7% of incidents. Limited-access highways, including Interstates (1,216 crashes) and Freeways/Expressways (648 crashes), comprised 21.6% of the total. Local roads and collectors saw 1,096 and 916 crashes, respectively.

State-maintained roadways, which include the Interstate, U.S. Route, and State route systems, were the location for 4,658 crashes. This represents 57.5% of all crashes where the route system was identified. The remaining 3,438 crashes (42.5%) occurred on local roads maintained by municipalities.

The vast majority of collisions, 8,041, occurred on public roads. A smaller but significant number of incidents, 407, took place on private property such as parking lots, private driveways, or roads within private developments. These private-property crashes accounted for 4.8% of all incidents where ownership was documented.

The data shows a strong concentration of crashes in urban areas, which were the location for 7,621 incidents. By contrast, 366 crashes were recorded in rural areas. This indicates that 4.6% of crashes with a defined geographic type occurred in rural settings, with the remainder in urban environments.

A majority of crashes, 5,802 incidents, occurred at locations that were not at an intersection. Among crashes that did happen at a junction, four-way intersections were the most common setting, with 1,409 incidents. T-intersections were the next most frequent location, accounting for 1,199 crashes.

Among crashes where the first harmful event was striking a fixed object, the most common objects hit were guardrail faces (235 times), other fixed objects like buildings or walls (215 times), and utility poles or light supports (187 times). Collisions with utility poles and trees (123 times) were particularly frequent for run-off-road crashes, together accounting for 310 incidents.

Passenger cars were the most prevalent vehicle type involved in crashes, with 9,880 units recorded, followed by sport utility vehicles with 3,423. Medium and heavy trucks accounted for 346 vehicle involvements. The data also includes 71 motorcycles and a combined 131 school, transit, and other buses.

Analysis of traffic controls present at crash locations shows that the majority of involved vehicles (10,809) were in areas with no control device. For crashes at controlled locations, traffic signals were the most common, present for 3,995 vehicle involvements. Stop signs were present for 1,135 vehicle involvements.

There were 197 crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists. Pedestrians were involved in 103 of these crashes and bicyclists in 23, making for a combined 126 incidents involving vulnerable road users. Motorcyclists were involved in the remaining 71 crashes.

The most common contributing driver action was 'Followed Too Closely,' cited for 2,634 drivers. The next most frequent actions were 'Failed to Keep in Proper Lane' (1,558 drivers) and 'Failed to Yield Right-of-Way' (852 drivers). These three actions represent the most common errors identified in the crash data.

Among driver conditions noted as a factor, 'Under the Influence of Medications/Drugs/Alcohol' was the most cited, recorded for 221 drivers. The second most common condition was 'Asleep or Fatigued,' which was attributed to 136 drivers. Other reported conditions included being emotional (81 drivers) or ill (49 drivers).

The most common pre-crash maneuver was driving 'Straight Ahead,' recorded for 7,374 vehicles, or 45.3% of all vehicles involved. A large number of vehicles were either 'Stopped in Traffic' (1,892) or 'Slowing' (1,159) immediately before being struck. Turning left was the pre-crash action for 1,155 vehicles.

The front of the vehicle, designated as 'Sector 12 (North),' was the most frequent point of impact, recorded for 4,701 vehicles (28.9%). The rear of the vehicle, 'Sector 6 (South),' was the second most common impact point, noted in 3,448 cases (21.2%). This aligns with the high number of front-to-rear collisions.

Of the 139 pedestrians involved in crashes, the most frequently recorded circumstance was 'No Improper Action' (45 cases). Where an improper action was noted, 'Failure to Obey Traffic Signs, Signals, or Officer' was cited 14 times. 'Failure to Yield Right-Of-Way' was recorded for 13 pedestrians.

Front-to-rear collisions were the dominant crash type, accounting for 3,275 incidents, or 38% of the total. Angle collisions were the second-most frequent manner of collision with 1,611 cases (18.7%). Sideswipes between vehicles traveling in the same direction occurred 1,178 times (13.7%).

Of the 21,348 individuals involved in crashes, drivers were the largest group, accounting for 15,436 people (72.3%). Passengers made up the next largest group with 4,822 individuals (22.6%). The data also recorded the involvement of 139 pedestrians and 23 bicyclists.

Across all 21,348 people involved in crashes, 17,771 (83.2%) were reported to have no injuries. A total of 2,746 individuals sustained some level of injury, representing 12.9% of all persons. Fatalities were recorded for 27 individuals, or 0.13% of the total.

The majority of motor vehicle occupants, 14,706 individuals, were reported to have used a shoulder and lap belt. However, 345 occupants were documented as using no safety restraint. Use of child restraints was also recorded, including 415 forward-facing systems and 126 rear-facing systems.

Two-vehicle crashes were the most common type of incident, with 6,520 occurrences, representing 75.6% of all crashes. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most frequent, with 1,603 incidents (18.6%). Crashes involving three or more vehicles were less common, with 414 three-vehicle crashes and 74 four-vehicle crashes reported.