9,599 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT, CT
NOVEMBER 2015

Motor vehicle occupants accounted for the majority of casualties, with 21 motorists killed and 3,074 injured. Vulnerable road users also suffered significant harm, with 4 pedestrians killed and 133 injured. While no bicyclists were killed during this period, 26 sustained injuries in crashes.

Crash analysis reveals distinct temporal patterns, with incidents peaking during weekday commute times. Monday was the busiest day with 1,566 crashes, and the 5 PM hour was the single most active hour with 960 crashes. Overall, more crashes occurred during daylight (5,363) than in all dark or low-light conditions combined (4,122).

The majority of crashes, 7,270 or 75.7%, resulted in no injuries and were classified as property-damage-only. Injury-involved crashes accounted for 24% of the total, comprising 100 serious injury, 835 minor injury, and 1,370 possible injury incidents. There were 24 separate crashes that resulted in a total of 25 fatalities, as a single crash can involve more than one death.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 24 fatal crash events resulted in 25 persons killed.

The vast majority of crashes occurred in ideal driving conditions. Data shows 7,676 incidents (79.9%) happened in clear weather and 7,752 (80.8%) on dry road surfaces. Crashes during daylight hours numbered 5,363, accounting for 55.9% of the total. By comparison, 1,286 crashes occurred during rain and 1,767 on wet roads.

Among all persons involved in crashes, the 26-34 age group was the most represented with 4,006 individuals, followed by the 45-54 age group with 3,580. An analysis of vehicle makes involved shows Honda (2,091), Toyota (1,883), and Ford (1,747) as the most frequent, based on combined counts of full and abbreviated make names in the data. These were followed by Nissan (1,615) and Chevrolet (1,471).

The posted 25 mph speed limit zone saw the highest volume of crashes, with 2,909 incidents, representing 30.3% of all crashes. While lower speed zones had more total crashes, the percentage of crashes within a zone that proved fatal tended to be higher in faster zones. For example, 0.91% of crashes in 50 mph zones and 0.85% in 65 mph zones were fatal, compared to 0.14% of crashes in 25 mph zones.

Crash distribution across Connecticut was primarily concentrated in its most populous counties. Fairfield County led with 2,787 crashes, followed by New Haven County with 2,540 and Hartford County with 2,367. Together, these three counties accounted for 7,694 crashes, representing 80.2% of the statewide total for the month.

At the municipal level, crash incidents were most frequent in the state's major cities. Hartford recorded the highest number of crashes with 615, followed by New Haven (530), Bridgeport (517), Stamford (470), and Waterbury (453). These five cities alone accounted for over a quarter of all crashes statewide during this period.

Among crashes where the roadway functional class was specified, Minor Arterials experienced the highest number of incidents at 395. Local roads accounted for 316 crashes, and Collector roads for 302. Limited-access highways, including Interstates (235) and Freeways/Expressways (187), collectively saw 422 crashes in this subset of data.

Analysis of the route system shows that 5,447 crashes occurred on state-maintained roadways, including State, Interstate, and US Routes. This compares to 3,686 crashes that took place on local roads. This distribution is relevant for determining jurisdictional responsibility for roadway safety and maintenance.

Of the crashes where roadway ownership was recorded, the overwhelming majority, 9,022, occurred on public roads. A total of 332 crashes, or approximately 3.5% of the subset, took place on private property. These incidents on private roads include crashes in locations such as parking lots and private driveways.

In the subset of crashes where a rural or urban designation was available, 1,469 incidents occurred in urban areas. Rural areas accounted for 184 crashes, representing 11.1% of this classified group. While fewer in number, rural crashes often involve different risk factors such as higher speeds.

The majority of crashes, 6,437, occurred at locations not directly at an intersection. However, a substantial number of incidents, 3,142 or 32.8% of the total, were junction-related. Among these, four-way intersections were the site of 1,513 crashes, and T-intersections were the site of 1,419 crashes.

Among crashes where the first harmful event was striking a fixed object, the most frequently hit objects were guardrail faces (218), other fixed objects like walls or buildings (214), and utility or light poles (205). Collisions with utility poles and standing trees combined accounted for 297 of these typically severe, run-off-road crashes.

Passenger cars were the predominant vehicle type involved in crashes, numbering 11,717. Sport Utility Vehicles (3,162) and pickup trucks (1,172) were the next most common types. The data also includes the involvement of 467 medium or heavy trucks, 153 buses of various types, and 57 motorcycles.

For most vehicles involved in a crash, there was no traffic control device present, a situation recorded in 12,056 instances. Where controls were present, 4,465 vehicle involvements occurred at locations with a traffic signal, and 1,296 occurred at intersections controlled by a stop sign. These figures represent the traffic control status for each vehicle in a crash.

A total of 232 crashes involved a pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist. Pedestrians were the most frequently involved group, with 146 incidents, while motorcyclists were involved in 57 and bicyclists in 29. Combined, pedestrians and bicyclists, classified as vulnerable road users, accounted for 175 of these high-risk crashes.

Excluding instances of no improper action, the most commonly cited contributing driver action was 'Followed Too Closely,' attributed to 3,032 drivers. This was followed by 'Failed to Keep in Proper Lane' with 1,416 instances and 'Failed to Yield Right-of-Way' with 933 instances. These driver errors represent key factors in a large number of preventable collisions.

While most drivers were recorded as 'Apparently Normal,' several hundred were noted with a condition that could impair driving. The most cited condition was 'Under the Influence of Medications/Drugs/Alcohol,' recorded for 277 drivers. Additionally, 145 drivers were identified as 'Asleep or Fatigued,' and 80 were noted as 'Emotional' at the time of the crash.

The most common action for vehicles immediately prior to a collision was proceeding 'Straight Ahead,' recorded for 8,230 vehicles. A significant number of crashes also involved vehicles that were 'Stopped in Traffic' (2,143) or 'Slowing' (1,512). Turning left was the fourth most common pre-crash maneuver, noted for 1,354 vehicles.

The front of the vehicle was the most common point of impact, with 5,329 vehicles struck in the area designated as 'Sector 12 (North)'. The second most frequent impact point was the rear of the vehicle, or 'Sector 6 (South),' which was recorded in 3,922 instances. Together, frontal and rear impacts account for the majority of initial collision contacts.

In incidents involving the 158 pedestrians, 'No Improper Action' was recorded in 81 cases, accounting for over half of the total. For the remainder, the most frequently cited actions by pedestrians included 'In Roadway Improperly' (20 instances), 'Failure to Yield Right-Of-Way' (15), and 'Dart/Dash' into the roadway (12).

The predominant crash pattern was a front-to-rear collision, which made up 3,774 incidents, or 39.3% of all crashes. Angle collisions were the second most frequent type, with 1,761 crashes (18.3% of the total). Same-direction sideswipes followed, accounting for 1,339 crashes (13.9%).

Of the 24,152 individuals involved in traffic incidents, drivers were the largest group, numbering 17,225 (71.3%). Passengers constituted the second-largest group with 5,781 individuals (23.9%). The data also recorded the involvement of 158 pedestrians and 29 bicyclists.

Among all 24,152 people involved in crashes, 83.1% (20,063) were not injured. A total of 3,233 people sustained injuries, with severities ranging from possible (2,023) and minor (1,083) to serious (127). The crashes resulted in 25 fatalities, representing approximately 0.1% of all persons involved.

For motor vehicle occupants where restraint use was documented, 17,411 were reported as using a shoulder and lap belt. Conversely, 608 occupants were recorded as using no safety restraint at all. The data also captured the use of child safety seats, including 453 forward-facing systems and 110 rear-facing systems.

The vast majority of incidents were two-vehicle collisions, which accounted for 7,206 crashes, or 75.1% of the total. Single-vehicle crashes were the next most common category, with 1,752 incidents (18.3%). Crashes involving three or more vehicles were less frequent, with 561 three-vehicle crashes recorded.