9,448 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
AUGUST 2018

Motor vehicle occupants constituted the largest group of individuals killed or injured, with 23 fatalities and 3,159 injuries. Among vulnerable road users, 4 pedestrians were killed and 95 were injured. While no bicyclists were killed, 43 sustained injuries.

Crash frequencies peaked late in the work week, with Thursday (1,678 crashes) and Friday (1,677 crashes) showing the highest volumes. The most common time for a crash was during the evening commute, with the 5 p.m. hour recording the highest number of incidents (861). Overall, 79.1% of all crashes occurred during daylight hours.

Of the 9,448 crashes, 74.9% (7,072 incidents) resulted in no injuries, while 25.1% involved at least a possible injury. A total of 27 crashes were fatal, representing 0.3% of all incidents. These 27 fatal crashes resulted in 27 total fatalities, indicating one death per fatal crash during this period.

The vast majority of crashes occurred in ideal driving conditions. Data shows that 84.8% of incidents happened in clear weather, 85.6% on dry road surfaces, and 79.1% in daylight. Adverse conditions were less common, with 9.6% of crashes occurring during rain and 13.5% on wet roads.

The most frequently involved vehicle makes in crashes were Honda (1,853), Toyota (1,710), and Ford (1,639). Among all individuals involved in crashes, the 26-34 age group was the most represented, accounting for 4,157 people, followed by the 35-44 age group with 3,348 people.

The most crashes occurred in 25 mph zones, which saw 2,796 incidents, or 29.6% of the total. While lower speed zones had more crashes, the percentage of crashes that were fatal was higher in faster zones. For instance, 0.94% of crashes in 65 mph zones were fatal, and 0.77% in 35 mph zones were fatal, compared to 0.22% in 25 mph zones.

Crash distribution was concentrated in three counties, which together accounted for 82.5% of all incidents statewide. Fairfield County recorded the highest number of crashes with 2,756 (29.2%), followed by New Haven County with 2,620 (27.7%) and Hartford County with 2,420 (25.6%).

The highest crash volumes were concentrated in the state's largest urban centers. Hartford led with 659 crashes (7.0% of the state total), followed closely by New Haven with 634 crashes (6.7%). Bridgeport (505 crashes), Waterbury (465 crashes), and Stamford (409 crashes) were also among the top five municipalities for crash incidents.

Arterial roads accounted for the largest share of crashes, with minor arterials seeing 2,463 incidents and principal arterials seeing 2,018. Combined, these roadways were the location for 47.4% of all crashes. Limited-access highways, including Interstates (1,430) and Freeways/Expressways (700), collectively accounted for 22.5% of crashes.

An analysis of roadway jurisdiction shows that 58.6% of crashes occurred on state-maintained routes, which include State, Interstate, and U.S. Route systems, totaling 5,224 incidents. Local roads accounted for the remaining 41.4%, with 3,692 crashes. This distinction is relevant for determining the responsible maintenance authority.

Of the crashes where roadway ownership was documented, the overwhelming majority occurred on public roads. A total of 382 crashes, or 4.1% of the specified incidents, took place on private property such as parking lots or private drives.

Crashes were predominantly an urban phenomenon during this period. Urban areas accounted for 8,451 crashes, while areas designated as rural saw 352 incidents. This means approximately 4.0% of crashes with a specified location type occurred in rural settings.

Most crashes did not occur at an intersection, with 6,297 incidents (66.6% of the total) happening at non-junction locations. For crashes that did happen at junctions, four-way intersections were the most common setting, accounting for 1,601 crashes, followed by T-intersections with 1,342 crashes. Combined, all types of intersections were the site of 32.9% of crashes.

Among crashes involving a vehicle running off the road and striking a fixed object, the most commonly struck object was a guardrail face, which was hit 232 times. Other frequently hit objects included general fixed objects like walls or buildings (184) and utility poles or light supports (155). Combined, utility poles and trees accounted for 252 of these fixed-object collisions.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 10,731 of the 18,117 vehicles involved (59.2%). Sport Utility Vehicles were the next most frequent, with 3,864 involved (21.3%). Notably, 451 medium or heavy trucks, 168 motorcycles, and 125 buses were also involved in collisions.

The majority of vehicles involved in crashes were at locations with no traffic control device present, accounting for 11,934 vehicles (65.9%). Locations with a traffic control signal were the next most common setting, involving 4,439 vehicles. Stop signs were present for 1,384 of the vehicles involved in crashes.

A total of 320 crashes involved either a motorcyclist or a vulnerable road user. Of these, motorcyclists were the largest group with 165 incidents. Pedestrians were involved in 101 crashes and bicyclists in 54, for a combined total of 155 crashes involving these vulnerable road users.

Among drivers for whom a contributing action was cited, the most common error was following too closely, attributed to 2,937 drivers (17.2%). The next most frequent actions were failing to keep in the proper lane (1,683 drivers) and failing to yield the right-of-way (938 drivers).

While most drivers were recorded as 'Apparently Normal,' several hundred were noted to have a contributing condition. The most cited condition was being under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol, which was recorded for 241 drivers. Additionally, 132 drivers were noted as asleep or fatigued, and 87 were described as emotional.

The most common pre-crash action for vehicles was moving straight ahead, which was the case for 7,993 vehicles, or 44.1% of the total. A significant number of vehicles were either stopped in traffic (2,080 vehicles, 11.5%) or in the process of slowing (1,402 vehicles, 7.7%) just prior to the collision.

The front of the vehicle was the most common point of impact, with 'Sector 12 (North)' being struck in 5,089 instances, representing 28.1% of all impacts with a specified location. The rear of the vehicle ('Sector 6 (South)') was the second most frequent impact point, recorded in 3,774 cases (20.8%).

In incidents involving pedestrians, 'No Improper Action' was noted in 77 cases, representing 48.7% of the total. For cases where an improper action was recorded, the most frequent was 'In Roadway Improperly' with 19 instances, followed by 'Failure to Yield Right-Of-Way' with 15 instances and 'Dart/Dash' with 10.

The most prevalent type of collision was 'Front to rear,' which accounted for 3,677 crashes, or 38.9% of all multi-vehicle incidents. Angle collisions were the second most common type, with 1,859 incidents (19.7%), followed by sideswipes in the same direction of travel at 1,270 incidents (13.4%).

Of the 24,110 people involved in crashes, the majority were drivers, accounting for 17,121 individuals (71.0%). Passengers made up the next largest group with 5,779 individuals (24.0%). Pedestrians and bicyclists together comprised 168 of the total persons involved, representing 0.7% of all participants.

Across all 24,110 individuals involved in crashes, 19,880 (82.5%) sustained no injuries. A total of 3,297 people were injured, representing 13.7% of all participants. Fatal injuries were recorded for 27 individuals, which is 0.11% of the total number of people involved.

Among vehicle occupants for whom safety equipment use was recorded, 16,845 (86.7%) were using a shoulder and lap belt. However, 319 occupants were documented as not using any form of restraint at the time of the crash.

The majority of crashes involved two vehicles, with 7,266 incidents (76.9%) falling into this category. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most common, with 1,560 incidents (16.5%). Crashes involving three or more vehicles were less frequent, accounting for 6.6% of the total.