8,260 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
FEBRUARY 2018

Of the 20 fatalities, 15 were motor-vehicle occupants and 5 were pedestrians. Among the 2,647 people injured, the vast majority were motorists (2,542), while 89 pedestrians and 16 cyclists also sustained injuries. No cyclist fatalities were recorded during this period.

Crash frequency peaked on Friday, which saw 1,422 incidents, the highest of any day of the week. The single busiest hour for crashes was the 3 p.m. hour, with 626 events. Overall, more crashes occurred during daylight hours (4,959) than during all periods of darkness, dawn, and dusk combined (3,201).

The majority of crashes, 76.6% (6,329), resulted in no injuries and were property-damage-only events. Injury-sustaining crashes, including those with possible, minor, or serious injuries, accounted for 23.1% of the total. There were 20 fatal crashes, which resulted in 20 total fatalities.

A majority of crashes occurred in favorable conditions, with 65.0% (5,372) happening in clear weather and 60.0% (4,959) during daylight hours. Similarly, 59.8% of crashes (4,942) were on dry road surfaces. Adverse conditions were also a factor, with 1,256 crashes occurring during rain and 2,039 crashes on wet roadways.

Among all persons involved in crashes, the 26-34 age group was the most represented, with 3,330 individuals, followed by the 35-44 age group with 2,882. An analysis of the 15,107 vehicles involved shows that the most frequent makes were Ford (1,431), Toyota (1,397), and Honda (1,371).

The most crashes, 2,630 (31.8% of the total), occurred in zones with a posted speed limit of 25 mph. Within this speed zone, 0.34% of crashes were fatal. In contrast, while zones with a 65 mph speed limit saw fewer crashes (433), they had a higher fatal crash rate, with 1.39% of those crashes resulting in a fatality.

Crash distribution was concentrated in three counties, which together accounted for over 80% of all incidents. Fairfield County and New Haven County each recorded 2,282 crashes (27.6% each), while Hartford County saw 2,092 crashes (25.3%). The remaining five counties each accounted for less than 7% of the statewide total.

Connecticut's urban centers saw the highest crash volumes in February 2018. New Haven had the most incidents with 525 crashes, followed by Bridgeport with 481, Waterbury with 451, and Hartford with 448. These four cities collectively accounted for 1,905 crashes, representing 23% of the statewide total.

Arterial roads were the site of the most crashes, with 2,008 on Minor Arterials and 1,621 on Principal Arterials. Combined, these two classes accounted for 44% of all crashes. Limited-access highways, including Interstates (1,060) and Freeways/Expressways (627), comprised 20.4% of the total crash locations.

An analysis of roadway jurisdiction shows a split between state-maintained and local roads. Crashes on state-maintained routes (including State, Interstate, and US Routes) totaled 4,350, while crashes on local roads totaled 3,456. This indicates that state-maintained systems were the location for approximately 55.7% of crashes where the route system was known.

Of the crashes where roadway ownership was documented, the vast majority (7,718) occurred on public roads. A smaller but notable number of incidents, 370 crashes or 4.6% of the known total, took place on private property such as parking lots or private drives.

The data indicates a significant majority of crashes occurred in urban settings. Of the 7,302 crashes with a specified location type, 6,877 were in urban areas. Crashes in rural areas accounted for 425 incidents, or 5.8% of the total.

The majority of crashes, 5,546 incidents, did not occur at an intersection. However, a significant number of collisions, 2,687 or 32.6% of the total where junction type was specified, happened at or were related to an intersection. The most common intersection types for crashes were four-way intersections (1,354) and T-intersections (1,173).

Among crashes involving a collision with a fixed object, the most commonly struck objects were guardrail faces (306), other fixed objects like walls or buildings (266), and utility poles or light supports (218). Collisions with utility poles (218) and trees (176) together accounted for 394 incidents, representing 23.1% of all fixed-object crashes.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 9,094 of the 15,107 vehicles. Sport Utility Vehicles were the second most common with 3,194 involved. Medium and heavy trucks, a category with higher potential severity, were involved in 321 crashes, making up 2.1% of all vehicles.

For a majority of vehicles involved in crashes (66.3%), no traffic control device was present at the location. Approximately 25.4% of vehicles were involved in crashes at locations with a traffic control signal. Crashes at intersections with stop signs involved 1,136 vehicles.

During this period, there were 140 crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists. Pedestrians were involved in 107 of these incidents and bicyclists in 23. Combined, these two vulnerable user groups accounted for 130 crashes, or 92.9% of all crashes in this category.

Among drivers for whom a contributing action was cited, the most common error was following too closely, attributed to 2,145 drivers. The next most frequent actions were failure to keep in the proper lane (1,512 drivers) and failure to yield the right-of-way (829 drivers). These actions represent common driver behaviors leading to collisions.

While most drivers were recorded as 'Apparently Normal,' a number of crashes involved drivers with other reported conditions. Being under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol was noted for 244 drivers. Additionally, 96 drivers were reported as asleep or fatigued, and 57 were noted as being emotional.

The most common pre-crash action for drivers was moving straight ahead, which was the case for 6,799 drivers. A significant number of drivers were stopped in traffic (1,561) or in the process of turning left (1,148) just prior to their collision. These actions represent the most common traffic situations leading to a crash.

Analysis of vehicle impact points shows that frontal impacts were the most common, with 4,442 vehicles struck in the front ('Sector 12'). The second most frequent point of impact was the rear of the vehicle ('Sector 6'), which was recorded for 2,753 vehicles. These two locations account for nearly half of all impacts recorded.

In 60 of the 125 instances where pedestrian action was recorded, it was determined that the pedestrian committed no improper action. For those where an improper action was noted, the most common were being in the roadway improperly (15 instances), failure to yield right-of-way (12 instances), and darting or dashing into the road (10 instances).

The most prevalent type of crash was a front-to-rear collision, which accounted for 2,751 incidents, or 33.3% of all crashes. The second most common crash type was an angle collision, with 1,574 occurrences (19.1%). Together, these two types represent over half of all crashes during the period.

Of the 19,691 individuals involved in crashes, the majority were drivers (14,337), accounting for 72.8% of all persons. Passengers made up the next largest group with 4,415 individuals (22.4%). Vulnerable road users were also present, including 114 pedestrians and 23 bicyclists.

Out of 19,691 people involved in crashes, 2,667 sustained some level of injury or were killed. This includes 20 fatalities (0.1%), 86 serious injuries, 940 minor injuries, and 1,621 possible injuries. The vast majority of individuals, 16,333 or 83.0%, were not injured.

Safety equipment usage was high among vehicle occupants, with 13,855 individuals reported as using both a shoulder and lap belt. However, 462 occupants were recorded as using no restraint system at all, representing approximately 3.0% of occupants for whom safety equipment use was documented.

The most common type of crash involved two vehicles, accounting for 5,833 incidents or 70.6% of the total. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most frequent, with 1,973 incidents (23.9%). Multi-vehicle pile-ups were less common, though one crash involved as many as 7 vehicles.