6,486 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
JUNE 2020

Motorists comprised the largest group of individuals killed or seriously injured, with 28 fatalities and 2,413 injuries recorded. Among vulnerable road users, there were 3 pedestrian fatalities and 70 pedestrians injured. Additionally, while no cyclists were killed, 46 sustained injuries during this period.

Crash frequencies peaked on Tuesday, which saw 1,093 incidents, while the most hazardous time of day was the 3 p.m. hour, with 561 crashes recorded. A significant majority of collisions, 5,120 or approximately 79%, occurred during daylight hours. The remaining incidents were distributed across dark-lighted (857), dark-not lighted (295), dusk (77), and dawn (31) conditions.

The majority of crashes, 4,645 incidents or 71.6%, resulted in no injuries and involved only property damage. The remaining 28.4% of crashes involved some level of injury, including 104 with serious injuries, 830 with minor injuries, and 877 with possible injuries. A total of 30 separate crashes were fatal, leading to 31 fatalities, as a single crash can result in more than one death.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 30 fatal crash events resulted in 31 persons killed.

The vast majority of collisions occurred in ideal driving conditions. Data shows that 89.6% of crashes (5,810) happened in clear weather, 90.7% (5,881) on dry road surfaces, and 79% (5,120) during daylight hours. In contrast, 374 crashes were recorded during rain, and 555 occurred on wet roads.

Among the 15,687 people involved in crashes, the 26-34 age group was the most represented, with 2,746 individuals. Analysis of the 12,122 vehicles involved shows that Honda was the most frequent make, with 1,333 vehicles. Toyota (1,114), Ford (1,064), Nissan (980), and Chevrolet (792) were the next most common makes involved in collisions.

The most crashes, 2,137 or 33% of the total, occurred in zones with a posted speed limit of 25 mph. The data also indicates a pattern where the percentage of crashes within a zone that prove fatal generally increases with the speed limit. For instance, 0.52% of crashes in 25 mph zones were fatal, a rate that rose to 1.1% in 40 mph zones and 1.5% in 50 mph zones.

Crash distribution was heavily concentrated in three of Connecticut's eight counties. Fairfield County recorded the highest number of incidents with 1,876, followed by New Haven County with 1,858 and Hartford County with 1,588. Together, these three counties accounted for approximately 82% of all crashes statewide.

Geographically, crash incidents were most frequent in the state's major urban centers. Hartford reported the highest number with 448 crashes, followed by New Haven with 445, Bridgeport with 419, and Waterbury with 360. These four cities collectively accounted for 1,672 crashes, representing approximately 25.8% of the statewide total.

Minor Arterials were the site of the most crashes, with 1,832 incidents recorded. Principal Arterials followed with 1,353 crashes. Combined, limited-access highways, including Interstates (694) and Freeways/Expressways (381), accounted for 1,075 crashes, or 16.6% of the total.

When analyzed by the agency responsible for the roadway, crashes were split between state-maintained and local routes. State-maintained routes (including State, Interstate, and US Routes) accounted for 3,429 crashes. Local roads were the location for 2,939 crashes, indicating that state-maintained infrastructure carried 53.8% of the crash volume where the route system was known.

Of the 6,369 crashes where roadway ownership was recorded, the vast majority (6,112) occurred on public roads. A smaller but notable number of incidents, 257 crashes or 4.0% of the known total, took place on private property such as parking lots or private driveways.

The data indicates a significant disparity in crash locations between urban and rural settings. Urban areas accounted for 5,668 crashes, while rural areas saw 277 incidents. This means that of crashes with a known location type, 4.7% occurred in rural areas.

A majority of crashes, 4,228 incidents, occurred at locations that were not at an intersection. Of the crashes that did happen at a junction, four-way intersections were the most common site with 1,149 crashes, followed by T-intersections with 953. In total, 34.7% of crashes with a known junction type occurred at an intersection.

Among single-vehicle crashes involving a collision with a fixed object, the most frequently struck objects were categorized as 'Other Fixed Object' (184), such as walls or buildings, and guardrail faces (180). Utility poles and other support poles were also common hazards, with 129 and 105 strikes respectively. Collisions with poles and trees combined accounted for 312, or 30.6%, of all fixed-object crashes.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 6,826 of the 12,122 vehicles. Sport Utility Vehicles were the second most frequent with 2,552 vehicles. Notably, medium or heavy trucks were involved in 326 incidents (2.7% of vehicles), and motorcycles were involved in 211 incidents (1.7% of vehicles).

Analysis of traffic controls at crash locations shows that most incidents occurred where no control device was present, a condition noted for 64.4% of the vehicles involved. Locations with a traffic control signal accounted for 25.8% of vehicles in crashes. Stop signs were present for 7.6% of the vehicles involved in collisions.

A total of 332 crashes involved either a vulnerable road user or a motorcyclist. Of these, motorcyclists were the most frequent group with 202 incidents. Combined, pedestrians (75) and bicyclists (55) were involved in 130 crashes, representing 39.2% of these specific incident types.

Excluding drivers with no noted contributing action, the most common factor cited was 'Followed Too Closely,' which was attributed to 1,560 drivers. The next most frequent actions were 'Failed to Keep in Proper Lane' (1,341 drivers) and 'Failed to Yield Right-of-Way' (661 drivers).

While most drivers were recorded as 'Apparently Normal,' several other conditions were noted. A total of 230 drivers were identified as being under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol. Additionally, 91 drivers were noted as asleep or fatigued, and 56 were described as emotional at the time of the crash.

The most common action drivers were taking immediately before a collision was proceeding straight ahead, which was the case for 5,563 vehicles, or 45.9% of the total. The second most frequent pre-crash action was being stopped in traffic, recorded for 1,113 vehicles. Turning left was the third most common action, noted for 972 vehicles.

The front of the vehicle was the most common point of impact in collisions. A frontal impact, designated as Sector 12, was recorded for 3,372 vehicles, representing 27.8% of all impacts. The second most frequent impact location was the rear of the vehicle (Sector 6), which occurred in 2,088 instances or 17.2% of the total.

For the 127 pedestrians and cyclists whose actions were recorded, 62 were noted as having 'No Improper Action.' Among those with a contributing factor, the most common were 'In Roadway Improperly,' 'Dart/Dash,' and 'Failure to Yield Right-Of-Way,' each cited in 10 instances. 'Wrong-Way Riding or Walking' was noted for 9 individuals.

The most prevalent type of collision was a front-to-rear crash, which accounted for 2,065 incidents, or 31.8% of all crashes during this period. Angle collisions were the second most common type, with 1,340 incidents, representing 20.7% of the total. Sideswipes in the same direction of travel occurred in 842 crashes.

Of the 15,687 individuals involved in traffic incidents, the majority were drivers, accounting for 11,312 people or 72.1% of the total. Passengers made up the next largest group, with 3,313 individuals (21.1%). Vulnerable road users, including 81 pedestrians and 55 bicyclists, constituted approximately 0.9% of all persons involved.

Across all 15,687 people involved in crashes, a total of 31 individuals sustained fatal injuries and 2,530 sustained some level of non-fatal injury. Combined, those killed or injured represent 16.3% of all participants. The largest group, 12,333 people, were recorded as having no injuries.

Among vehicle occupants where safety equipment use was documented, a total of 256 individuals were recorded as using no restraint system. This represents 2.1% of the 11,996 occupants with known restraint use. The most common restraint type used was a shoulder and lap belt, reported for 10,105 occupants.

The data shows that two-vehicle collisions were the most common type, accounting for 4,681 incidents or 72.2% of all crashes. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most frequent, with 1,399 incidents, making up 21.6% of the total. The dataset also includes a small number of multi-vehicle pile-ups, with one crash involving as many as 8 vehicles.