10,144 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
DECEMBER 2015

Motor vehicle occupants represented the largest group of individuals killed or injured, with 9 fatalities and 3,112 injuries. Among vulnerable road users, pedestrians were significantly impacted, with 5 individuals killed and 157 injured. No cyclists were killed during this period, but 17 sustained injuries in crashes.

Crash occurrences peaked midweek, with Wednesday recording the highest number of incidents (1,966). The most frequent time for crashes was the 3 p.m. hour, with 918 events, part of a broader afternoon peak between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Overall, 5,166 crashes (51.0%) occurred during daylight hours, while 4,476 (44.1%) happened in dark conditions, whether on lighted or unlighted roads.

The majority of crashes (76.4%) were property-damage-only, resulting in no reported injuries. Injury-related crashes, including those with possible, minor, or serious injuries, accounted for 23.5% of all incidents. There were 13 fatal crashes recorded, which resulted in a total of 14 fatalities.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 13 fatal crash events resulted in 14 persons killed.

The majority of crashes occurred in favorable conditions, with 65.0% of incidents happening in clear weather and 64.7% on dry road surfaces. Over half of all crashes (51.0%) took place during daylight hours. Adverse conditions still played a role, with 21.6% of crashes occurring during rain and 32.0% on wet roads.

Analysis of persons involved in crashes shows the most represented age groups were 26-34 years (4,136 people), 45-54 years (3,669 people), and 35-44 years (3,430 people). Among the 19,086 vehicles involved, the most frequent makes recorded were Ford (1,845), Honda (appearing as "HONDA" with 1,210 and "HOND" with 1,117), and Toyota (appearing as "TOYO" with 938).

The speed zone with the highest number of crashes was 25 mph, accounting for 3,030 incidents or 29.9% of the total. While lower speed zones saw more crashes, the percentage of crashes within a zone that were fatal tended to increase with the speed limit. For instance, 0.033% of crashes in 25 mph zones were fatal, compared to 0.408% in 65 mph zones. The highest fatality rate was observed in the 50 mph zone, where 0.604% of crashes resulted in a death.

Geographically, crashes were concentrated in three counties, which together accounted for 77.6% of all incidents statewide. Fairfield County had the highest volume with 3,057 crashes (30.1% of the total), followed by New Haven County with 2,457 crashes (24.2%) and Hartford County with 2,362 crashes (23.3%).

The highest concentration of crashes at the municipal level occurred in the state's largest cities. Hartford led with 588 crashes (5.8% of the state total), followed by Stamford (518 crashes, 5.1%), Bridgeport (517 crashes, 5.1%), Waterbury (497 crashes, 4.9%), and New Haven (402 crashes, 4.0%).

Among crashes where roadway functional class was identified, Minor Arterial roads saw the highest number of incidents (369), followed closely by Local roads (346) and Collector roads (343). Limited-access highways, including Interstates and Freeways/Expressways, collectively accounted for 526 of these crashes.

Analysis of the route system shows that 58.3% of crashes with this data (5,624 incidents) occurred on state-maintained roadways, including State, Interstate, and US Routes. The remaining 41.7% of these crashes (4,015 incidents) took place on local roads under municipal jurisdiction.

Of the crashes where roadway ownership was recorded, the vast majority (9,471) occurred on public roads. A smaller but notable number of incidents, 430 crashes or 4.3% of this subset, took place on private property such as parking lots or private drives.

In the subset of crashes where the location was classified, 1,562 occurred in urban areas. Rural areas accounted for 238 crashes, representing 13.2% of the incidents in this classification.

A majority of crashes, 6,779 incidents, occurred at locations not classified as intersections. Of the 3,328 crashes that did happen at a junction, four-way intersections were the most common site (1,645 incidents), followed by T-intersections (1,442 incidents).

Among crashes involving a collision with a fixed object, the most frequently struck objects were guardrail faces (279 incidents), other fixed objects like walls or buildings (238), and utility or light poles (193). Collisions with poles and trees combined accounted for 324 of these run-off-road crashes.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 12,428 vehicles, followed by Sport Utility Vehicles (3,315) and Pick Up trucks (1,187). Medium and heavy trucks were involved in 401 incidents, while motorcycles were involved in 35.

The most common traffic control scenario for vehicles involved in crashes was the absence of any control device, recorded for 12,578 vehicles. Traffic signals were present for 4,755 vehicles involved in collisions, while stop signs were the control device for another 1,367.

Among crashes involving vulnerable road users or motorcyclists, pedestrians were the most frequent group, with 174 incidents. Combined, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 197 crashes, representing 85.7% of collisions in this specific category. Motorcyclists were involved in 33 crashes.

The most common contributing driver action cited was "Followed Too Closely," which was noted for 2,945 drivers. Other frequent actions included "Failed to Keep in Proper Lane" (1,585 drivers) and "Failed to Yield Right-of-Way" (1,092 drivers).

While most drivers were recorded as "Apparently Normal," several hundred were noted to have a contributing condition. Driving "Under the Influence of Medications/Drugs/Alcohol" was the most cited condition, attributed to 311 drivers. This was followed by "Asleep or Fatigued" (138 drivers) and "Emotional" (77 drivers).

The most common pre-crash action for vehicles was moving "Straight Ahead," which was the case for 8,770 vehicles, or 46.0% of the total. The next most frequent actions were being "Stopped in Traffic" (2,094 vehicles) and "Turning Left" (1,480 vehicles).

The front of the vehicle was the most common point of impact, recorded as "Sector 12 (North)" for 5,647 vehicles, representing 29.6% of all vehicles in the dataset. The second most frequent impact point was the rear of the vehicle, or "Sector 6 (South)," which was recorded for 3,829 vehicles (20.1%).

Among the 187 pedestrians involved in crashes, 79 were determined to have taken "No Improper Action." For those with a contributing action noted, the most common were "In Roadway Improperly" (25 pedestrians), "Failure to Yield Right-Of-Way" (23 pedestrians), and "Dart/Dash" into the road (15 pedestrians).

The most frequent type of collision was "Front to rear," which accounted for 3,739 crashes, or 36.9% of all incidents. This was followed by "Angle" collisions (2,016 crashes, 19.9%) and "Sideswipe, same direction" collisions (1,361 crashes, 13.4%).

Of the 25,090 individuals involved in crashes, the vast majority were drivers (18,085 people, or 72.1%). Passengers made up the next largest group with 5,716 individuals (22.8%). The data also includes 187 pedestrians and 24 bicyclists.

Across all 25,090 people involved in crashes, 14 individuals sustained fatal injuries (0.06%). A total of 3,286 people, or 13.1% of all participants, suffered some level of injury, ranging from possible to serious. The majority of people involved, 20,870 individuals, were not injured.

The most commonly used safety equipment was a shoulder and lap belt, reported for 18,105 vehicle occupants. A total of 482 occupants were recorded as using no restraint system at the time of the crash, representing 2.3% of individuals for whom restraint use was specified.

The majority of crashes, 7,615 incidents or 75.1%, involved two vehicles. Single-vehicle crashes accounted for 1,915 incidents, or 18.9% of the total. Multi-vehicle collisions involving three or more vehicles were less common, with 560 three-vehicle crashes being the largest subset.