9,625 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
FEBRUARY 2015

Of the 2,370 people killed or injured, motorists comprised the largest group, with 11 fatalities and 2,279 injuries. Pedestrians represented a significant portion of fatalities, with 7 individuals killed and 68 injured in 86 separate crashes. There were no cyclist fatalities recorded, though 3 cyclists were injured in 5 crashes.

Crash analysis reveals distinct temporal patterns, with Wednesday being the peak day for crashes, recording 1,633 incidents. The afternoon commute represents the most frequent time for collisions, with the hours of 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. each recording a peak of 854 crashes. Overall, 6,438 crashes, or approximately 67%, occurred during daylight hours.

The vast majority of crashes, 81.9% (7,880 incidents), resulted in no injuries. Injury-involved crashes accounted for 18.0% of the total, comprising 46 serious injury, 585 minor injury, and 1,097 possible injury crashes. A total of 17 crashes were classified as fatal, which resulted in 18 total fatalities, as a single crash can involve more than one death.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 17 fatal crash events resulted in 18 persons killed.

While most crashes occurred in favorable conditions, adverse weather was a significant factor. Approximately 53.4% of crashes (5,141) happened on dry road surfaces, and 71.9% (6,919) occurred in clear weather. However, crashes on roads with snow (2,087), ice/frost (508), or slush (575) were common, as were incidents during snowfall (1,616).

Among the 23,820 people involved in crashes, the 26-34 age group was the most represented, with 3,865 individuals. Analysis of the 18,288 vehicles involved shows that Ford was the most frequent make, with 1,987 vehicles recorded. Other common makes included Honda (1,979 vehicles, combining 'HONDA' and 'HOND' entries) and Toyota (1,851 vehicles, combining 'TOYOTA', 'TOYT', and 'TOYO' entries).

The most crashes, 2,808 incidents (29.2% of the total), occurred in zones with a posted speed limit of 25 mph. In this zone, 0.11% of crashes were fatal. The percentage of crashes that were fatal varied across speed zones, with the 40 mph zone having the highest rate at 0.52% of its crashes resulting in a fatality. Notably, zones recorded with a speed limit of 35 mph saw 1,103 crashes and 4 fatalities.

Crash distribution was concentrated in three of Connecticut's eight counties. Fairfield County had the highest number of crashes with 2,602, followed closely by New Haven County with 2,589 and Hartford County with 2,515. Together, these three counties accounted for approximately 80% of all crashes statewide during this period.

The highest crash volumes were recorded in Connecticut's largest urban centers. New Haven led all municipalities with 798 crashes, followed by Hartford with 696, and Bridgeport with 558. These three cities alone constituted 21.3% of the total crashes reported across the state in February 2015.

Among the 1,415 crashes where the roadway's functional class was recorded, Interstates saw the highest number of incidents with 331. Combined, limited-access highways (Interstates and Freeways/Expressways) accounted for 519 crashes, or 36.7% of this subset. Crashes on Minor Arterials (276) and local roads (216) were also frequent.

Analysis of the 8,966 crashes with route system data shows a nearly even split between state-maintained and local roadways. State-maintained routes (including Interstates, US Routes, and State routes) were the location for 4,703 crashes (52.4%), while local roads accounted for 4,263 crashes (47.6%).

Of the 9,197 crashes where roadway ownership was identified, the vast majority occurred on public roads (8,837 crashes). A smaller but notable number of incidents, 360 crashes or 3.9% of this group, took place on private property such as parking lots or private drives.

In the subset of 1,415 crashes with a rural-urban designation, the majority occurred in urban areas. Urban locations accounted for 1,257 crashes, while 158 crashes, or 11.2% of this subset, were recorded in rural areas.

The majority of crashes did not occur at an intersection. Of the 9,596 crashes with junction data, 6,393 (66.6%) were non-junction related. Intersections accounted for 3,203 crashes (33.4%), with T-intersections (1,542) and four-way intersections (1,457) being the most common types.

Among crashes where the first harmful event was striking a fixed object, the most commonly struck object was a guardrail face, involved in 238 incidents. Other frequently hit objects include embankments (150), concrete traffic barriers (97), and utility poles (95). Combined, collisions with utility poles and trees accounted for 140 of these run-off-road crashes.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 11,455 of all vehicles. Sport Utility Vehicles (2,912) and Pick Up trucks (1,296) were the next most frequent. Notably, 573 medium or heavy trucks and 353 buses (including school, transit, and other types) were involved in collisions.

Among vehicles involved in crashes where traffic control was documented, 12,910 were at locations with no control device present. Traffic signals were present for 3,557 vehicles involved in crashes, and stop signs were the governing control for 1,264 vehicles. A smaller number of incidents occurred at locations with flashing signals (154) or yield signs (67).

In crashes involving vulnerable road users, pedestrians were the most frequent group. Of the 93 such incidents recorded, 86 involved pedestrians and 5 involved bicyclists. These two groups together represent 97.8% of the vulnerable user crashes identified in this specific dataset.

Among drivers for whom a contributing action was cited, following too closely was the most common error, attributed to 2,189 drivers. The next most frequent actions were failing to keep in the proper lane (1,252 drivers) and failing to yield the right-of-way (1,066 drivers). These three actions represent the majority of specified driver errors.

Of the drivers noted as having a condition other than 'Apparently Normal', 223 were suspected of being under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol. Another 95 drivers were described as emotional (depressed, angry, etc.), and 71 were noted as being asleep or fatigued at the time of the crash.

The most common pre-crash action for vehicles was moving straight ahead, which was the case for 8,270 vehicles involved. A significant number of vehicles were stopped in traffic (1,699) or parked (1,578) prior to being involved in a collision. Turning left was the fourth most common pre-crash maneuver, recorded for 1,316 vehicles.

Analysis of vehicle impact points indicates that frontal collisions are most common. Over half of the impacts (51.0%) were to the front of the vehicle, combining the 11, 12, and 1 o'clock positions. Rear impacts, represented by the 5, 6, and 7 o'clock positions, accounted for 27.3% of collisions.

In incidents involving pedestrians where their action was recorded, 44 of 85 pedestrians (51.8%) were determined to have committed no improper action. For those with an improper action noted, the most common were failure to obey a traffic signal (9 pedestrians) and being in the roadway improperly (8 pedestrians).

The most frequent type of collision was a front-to-rear crash, which accounted for 3,022 incidents, or 31.4% of all crashes. Angle collisions were the second most common type, with 2,090 incidents (21.7%). Sideswipes in the same direction of travel occurred in 1,376 crashes (14.3%).

Of the 23,820 individuals involved in crashes, the majority were drivers (17,055 people, or 71.6%). Passengers constituted the second-largest group, with 5,944 individuals, making up 25.0% of all persons involved. Vulnerable road users, including 89 pedestrians and 5 bicyclists, were also documented.

Among the 23,209 persons with a documented injury status, 18 suffered fatal injuries. A total of 2,352 individuals sustained some level of injury, representing 10.1% of all people involved. The majority of individuals, 20,839 people, were not injured.

Among 19,142 vehicle occupants with safety equipment usage recorded, 16,468 were noted as using both a shoulder and lap belt. A total of 533 occupants, or 2.8% of this group, were recorded as using no restraint system at the time of the crash.

The vast majority of crashes involved two vehicles, accounting for 7,686 incidents or 79.9% of the total. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most common, with 1,493 incidents (15.5%). Multi-vehicle pile-ups involving three or more vehicles were less frequent, with 381 three-vehicle crashes and 56 four-vehicle crashes recorded.