CERTAIN PAST AND CURRENT MOTOR VEHICLE STATISTICS

Location:
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS;

OLR Research Report


March 9, 2009		2009-R-0128
CERTAIN PAST AND CURRENT MOTOR VEHICLE STATISTICS

By: Janet L. Kaminski Leduc, Senior Legislative Attorney

You asked for motor vehicle statistics, including traffic accidents by town, and rural versus urban driving patterns for 1979 and 2007.

SUMMARY

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) has collected, analyzed, and published data about reported traffic accidents since 1985, so information for 1979 is not available. Since 1992, the DOT publishes this data only for even years, but 2008 data is not yet available. This report, therefore, presents traffic accident data for 1985 and 2006. In 1985, there were 115,427 accidents reported in Connecticut. In 2006, there were 71,724 reported accidents. The law requires only certain accidents to be reported, but the definition of a reportable accident in 1985 was different than in 2006, which may account for some of the decrease in 2006.

In 1985, motor vehicle operators were responsible by law to file an accident report in certain circumstances with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The law also required police authorities to file a copy of all police-investigated traffic accidents when the investigation was completed. The law defined a reportable accident as a motor vehicle accident in which someone was killed or injured or incurred over $ 600 in property damage. As of October 1, 1990, operators are no longer required to file accident reports.

Connecticut law changed in 1988 to increase the property damage amount for a reportable accident to $ 1,000. The requirement remains that for each motor vehicle traffic accident in which a person is killed or injured or damage to a person's property exceeds $ 1,000, the police officer, agency, or person who investigates the accident to give the DOT a copy of the completed police accident report (CGS § 14-108a).

Sixteen towns were among the 20 towns with the most reported accidents in both 1985 and 2006: Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, East Hartford, Fairfield, Greenwich, Manchester, Milford, New Haven, Norwalk, Norwich, Stamford, Stratford, Wallingford, Waterbury, and Westport.

The top seven towns were the same in both years, although their ranking changed slightly: Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, and Waterbury.

In 1985, nearly 80% of the state's population lived in areas the U. S. Census designated as urban, while only about 20% of the state's population lived in areas designated as rural. For the 2000 census, the U. S. Census Bureau changed its criteria for urban areas. As a result, about 88% of Connecticut is now considered urban. Generally speaking, Connecticut's northern and eastern regions are more rural in character than other parts of the state, according to the DOT.

The number of licensed drivers increased from 2. 1 million in 1979 to 2. 8 million in 2007. Total vehicle registrations increased from under 2. 3 million to just over 3 million in 2007. The total annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in Connecticut increased from 19. 4 billion in 1979 to 32. 1 billion in 2007. This includes rural VMT of about 5 billion in 1979 and 4 billion in 2007, and urban VMT of 14. 4 billion in 1979 and 28 billion in 2007. The average annual VMT for a licensed driver was 9,222 in 1979 and 11,252 in 2007. The change in urban versus rural designation in 2000 may account for some of the shift in reported urban and rural VMT.

TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS BY TOWN – 1985 AND 2006

Table 1 compares accidents that occurred on Connecticut's publicly maintained roadways by town for 1985 and 2006. For its 1985 report, the DOT obtained data from the DMV. For its 2006 report, the DOT obtained data solely from police accident reports.

Table 1: Total Reported Traffic Accidents, 1985 and 2006


*TOWN*	*1985*		*2006*
*TOWN*	*Total*	*% of Total*	*Total*	*% of Total*
Andover	87	0. 1%	36	0. 05%
Ansonia	388	0. 3%	171	0. 24%
Ashford	96	0. 1%	58	0. 08%
Avon	528	0. 5%	295	0. 41%
Barkhamsted	125	0. 1%	72	0. 10%
Beacon Falls	90	0. 1%	70	0. 10%
Berlin	341	0. 3%	421	0. 59%
Bethany	116	0. 1%	75	0. 10%
Bethel	379	0. 3%	313	0. 44%
Bethlehem	45	0. 0%	20	0. 03%
Bloomfield	669	0. 6%	530	0. 74%
Bolton	154	0. 1%	116	0. 16%
Bozrah	62	0. 1%	45	0. 06%
Branford	1,038	0. 9%	697	0. 97%
Bridgeport	3,457	3. 0%	3,137	4. 37%
Bridgewater	31	0. 0%	29	0. 04%
Bristol	2,291	2. 0%	1,028	1. 43%
Brookfield	587	0. 5%	418	0. 58%
Brooklyn	161	0. 1%	109	0. 15%
Burlington	158	0. 1%	131	0. 18%
Canaan	25	0. 0%	18	0. 03%
Canterbury	57	0. 0%	50	0. 07%
Canton	393	0. 3%	244	0. 34%
Chaplin	58	0. 1%	36	0. 05%
Cheshire	837	0. 7%	592	0. 83%
Chester	118	0. 1%	57	0. 08%
Clinton	235	0. 2%	85	0. 12%
Colchester	250	0. 2%	219	0. 31%
Colebrook	36	0. 0%	17	0. 02%
Columbia	109	0. 1%	69	0. 10%
Cornwall	43	0. 0%	30	0. 04%
Coventry	206	0. 2%	194	0. 27%
Cromwell	509	0. 4%	403	0. 56%
Danbury	2,569	2. 2%	2,126	2. 96%
Darien	754	0. 7%	667	0. 93%
Deep River	110	0. 1%	30	0. 04%
Derby	871	0. 8%	512	0. 71%
Durham	157	0. 1%	119	0. 17%
Eastford	37	0. 0%	22	0. 03%
East Granby	152	0. 1%	73	0. 10%
East Haddam	135	0. 1%	67	0. 09%
East Hampton	275	0. 2%	155	0. 22%
East Hartford	2,519	2. 2%	1,153	1. 61%
East Haven	764	0. 7%	564	0. 79%
East Lyme	518	0. 4%	375	0. 52%
Easton	188	0. 2%	116	0. 16%
East Windsor	487	0. 4%	266	0. 37%
Ellington	252	0. 2%	139	0. 19%
Enfield	1,452	1. 3%	688	0. 96%
Essex	141	0. 1%	67	0. 09%
Fairfield	1,737	1. 5%	1,074	1. 50%
Farmington	990	0. 9%	823	1. 15%
Franklin	99	0. 1%	86	0. 12%
Glastonbury	946	0. 8%	400	0. 56%
Goshen	55	0. 0%	21	0. 03%
Granby	154	0. 1%	98	0. 14%
Greenwich	2,085	1. 8%	1,259	1. 76%
Griswold	221	0. 2%	181	0. 25%
Groton	1,748	1. 5%	688	0. 96%
Guilford	570	0. 5%	325	0. 45%
Haddam	212	0. 2%	124	0. 17%
Hamden	1,324	1. 1%	1,320	1. 84%
Hampton	30	0. 0%	14	0. 02%
Hartford	8,353	7. 2%	2,537	3. 54%
Hartland	18	0. 0%	13	0. 02%
Harwinton	182	0. 2%	101	0. 14%
Hebron	136	0. 1%	75	0. 10%
Kent	93	0. 1%	45	0. 06%
Killingly	469	0. 4%	318	0. 44%
Killingworth	81	0. 1%	63	0. 09%
Lebanon	125	0. 1%	51	0. 07%
Ledyard	405	0. 4%	223	0. 31%
Lisbon	168	0. 1%	131	0. 18%
Litchfield	289	0. 3%	208	0. 29%
Lyme	42	0. 0%	9	0. 01%
Madison	499	0. 4%	239	0. 33%
Manchester	2,448	2. 1%	1,109	1. 55%
Mansfield	598	0. 5%	363	0. 51%
Marlborough	141	0. 1%	122	0. 17%
Meriden	1,414	1. 2%	1,124	1. 57%
Middlebury	375	0. 3%	290	0. 40%
Middlefield	189	0. 2%	89	0. 12%
Middletown	1,170	1. 0%	584	0. 81%
Milford	2,196	1. 9%	1,088	1. 52%
Monroe	526	0. 5%	338	0. 47%
Montville	626	0. 5%	431	0. 60%
Morris	62	0. 1%	29	0. 04%
Naugatuck	828	0. 7%	381	0. 53%
New Britain	2,053	1. 8%	963	1. 34%
New Canaan	609	0. 5%	268	0. 37%
New Fairfield	207	0. 2%	123	0. 17%
New Hartford	169	0. 1%	77	0. 11%
New Haven	4090	3. 5%	3425	4. 78%
Newington	784	. 07%	642	0. 90%
New London	1,483	1. 3%	551	0. 77%
New Milford	668	0. 6%	577	0. 80%
Newtown	932	0. 8%	499	0. 70%
Norfolk	66	0. 1%	32	0. 04%
North Branford	298	0. 3%	256	0. 36%
North Canaan	113	0. 1%	56	0. 08%
North Haven	970	0. 8%	973	1. 36%
North Stonington	174	0. 2%	153	0. 21%
Norwalk	4,065	3. 5%	2,224	3. 10%
Norwich	1,619	1. 4%	1,071	1. 49%
Old Lyme	259	0. 2%	137	0. 19%
Old Saybrook	326	0. 3%	285	0. 40%
Orange	522	0. 5%	783	1. 09%
Oxford	202	0. 2%	139	0. 19%
Plainfield	445	0. 4%	289	0. 40%
Plainville	678	0. 6%	517	0. 72%
Plymouth	146	0. 1%	237	0. 33%
Pomfret	93	0. 1%	84	0. 12%
Portland	245	0. 2%	154	0. 21%
Preston	169	0. 1%	186	0. 26%
Prospect	184	0. 2%	163	0. 23%
Putnam	290	0. 3%	139	0. 19%
Redding	224	0. 2%	137	0. 19%
Ridgefield	788	0. 7%	427	0. 60%
Rocky Hill	431	0. 4%	456	0. 64%
Roxbury	50	0. 0%	37	0. 05%
Salem	73	0. 1%	81	0. 11%
Salisbury	109	0. 1%	71	0. 10%
Scotland	25	0. 0%	6	0. 01%
Seymour	556	0. 5%	501	0. 70%
Sharon	99	0. 1%	49	0. 07%
Shelton	1,142	1. 0%	670	0. 93%
Sherman	55	0. 0%	27	0. 04%
Simsbury	521	0. 5%	304	0. 42%
Somers	202	0. 2%	98	0. 14%
Southbury	506	0. 4%	283	0. 39%
Southington	1,274	1. 1%	790	1. 10%
South Windsor	539	0. 5%	307	0. 43%
Sprague	69	0. 1%	29	0. 04%
Stafford	264	0. 2%	157	0. 22%
Stamford	2,794	2. 4%	2,186	3. 05%
Sterling	40	0. 0%	26	0. 04%
Stonington	767	0. 7%	410	0. 57%
Stratford	1,913	1. 7%	1,284	1. 79%
Suffield	349	0. 3%	221	0. 31%
Thomaston	210	0. 2%	224	0. 31%
Thompson	224	0. 2%	109	0. 15%
Tolland	367	0. 3%	250	0. 35%
Torrington	896	0. 8%	685	0. 96%
Trumbull	725	0. 6%	891	1. 24%
Union	70	0. 1%	56	0. 08%
Vernon	1,052	0. 9%	705	0. 98%
Voluntown	38	0. 0%	34	0. 05%
Wallingford	1,605	1. 4%	1,123	1. 57%
Warren	21	0. 0%	11	0. 02%
Washington	88	0. 1%	68	0. 09%
Waterbury	5,870	5. 1%	2,672	3. 73%
Waterford	926	0. 8%	643	0. 90%
Watertown	683	0. 6%	452	0. 63%
Westbrook	275	0. 2%	96	0. 13%
West Hartford	2,204	1. 9%	916	1. 28%
West Haven	1,596	1. 4%	1,235	1. 72%
Weston	196	0. 2%	117	0. 16%
Westport	1,750	1. 5%	1,121	1. 56%
Wethersfield	905	0. 8%	592	0. 83%
Willington	176	0. 2%	107	0. 15%
Wilton	697	0. 6%	407	0. 57%
Winchester	231	0. 2%	283	0. 39%
Windham	835	0. 7%	467	0. 65%
Windsor	958	0. 8%	651	0. 91%
Windsor Locks	399	0. 3%	243	0. 34%
Wolcott	395	0. 3%	187	0. 26%
Woodbridge	350	0. 3%	294	0. 41%
Woodbury	231	0. 2%	135	0. 19%
Woodstock	139	0. 1%	92	0. 13%
Unknown	2	0	0	0
TOTAL	115,427	100%	71,724	100%

Source: Connecticut Department of Transportation, Bureau of Policy and Planning,

Connecticut Traffic Accident Facts 1985 and 2006.

The 20 towns with the most reported traffic accidents in 1985 accounted for 50% of all accidents reported in the state. In 2006, they accounted for 47% of all reported accidents.

The top seven towns were the same in both years, although their ranking changed slightly: Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, and Waterbury. Table 2 ranks the 20 towns with the most reported accidents in 1985 and 2006 in descending order.

Table 2: The 20 Towns with the Most Reported Traffic Accidents, 1985 and 2006


*1985*			*2006*
*Rank*	*Town*	*Accidents* *# (% of state)*	*Rank*	*Town*	*Accidents* *# (% of state)*
1	Hartford	8,353 (7. 2%)	1	New Haven	3,425 (4. 9%)
2	Waterbury	5,870 (5. 1%)	2	Bridgeport	3,137 (4. 4%)
3	New Haven	4,090 (3. 5%)	3	Waterbury	2,672 (3. 7%)
4	Norwalk	4,065 (3. 5%)	4	Hartford	2,537 (3. 5%)
5	Bridgeport	3,457 (3. 0%)	5	Norwalk	2,224 (3. 1%)
6	Stamford	2,794 (2. 4%)	6	Stamford	2,186 (3. 1%)
7	Danbury	2,569 (2. 2%)	7	Danbury	2,216 (3. 0%)
8	East Hartford	2,519 (2. 2%)	8	Hamden	1,320 (1. 8%)
9	Manchester	2,448 (2. 1%)	9	Stratford	1,284 (1. 8%)
10	Bristol	2,291 (2. 0%)	10	Greenwich	1,259 (1. 8%)
11	West Hartford	2,204 (1. 9%)	11	West Haven	1,235 (1. 7%)
12	Milford	2,196 (1. 9%)	12	East Hartford	1,153 (1. 6%)
13	Greenwich	2,085 (1. 8%)	13	Meriden	1,124 (1. 6%)
14	New Britain	2,053 (1. 8%)	14	Wallingford	1,123 (1. 6%)
15	Stratford	1,913 (1. 7%)	15	Westport	1,121 (1. 6%)
16	Westport	1,750 (1. 5%)	16	Manchester	1,109 (1. 6%)
17	Groton	1,748 (1. 5%)	17	Milford	1,088 (1. 5%)
18	Fairfield	1,737 (1. 5%)	18	Fairfield	1,074 (1. 5%)
19	Norwich	1,619 1. 4%)	19	Norwich	1,071 (1. 5%)
20	Wallingford	1,605 (1. 4%)	20	Bristol	1,028 (1. 4%)
TOTAL (% of all in state)		57,366 (50%)	TOTAL (% of all in state)		33,386 (47%)

DRIVERS, POPULATION, AND VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED

Table 3 provides a variety of information regarding Connecticut's population, licensed drivers, automobile and all vehicle registrations, and vehicle miles traveled (total, rural, and urban) for 1979 and 2007.

Urban and Rural Designation

Generally speaking, Connecticut's northern and eastern regions are more rural in character than other parts of the state, according to the DOT. Over time, the areas designated as urban versus rural has changed, largely as a result of the 2000 census.

In 1980, nearly 80% of the state's population lived in areas the U. S. Census designated as urban, while only about 20% of the state's population lived in areas designated as rural. This proportion of urban to rural population remained virtually unchanged until 2000, when the percent of urban population grew to 88%. The reason the urban population suddenly increased was the criteria used for the 2000

census for determining whether an area is urban or rural changed. This resulted in several significant areas changing from rural to urban. According the DOT, if the criteria were unchanged in 2000, urban growth in Connecticut would have continued a slow growth rate.

Because of the change in urban versus rural designation, a comparison between vehicle miles traveled by urban or rural areas between post-2000 years and earlier years is impossible, according to the DOT. Generally speaking, most of Connecticut is considered urban, and more of Connecticut has been designated as urban since 2000 than in earlier years.

Table 3: Motor Vehicle Statistics, 1979 and 2007

*CATEGORY*	*1979*	*2007*
Population	3,115,000	3,502,309
Licensed Drivers	2,107,092	2,848,602
Automobile Registrations	2,029,647	1,988,569
All Vehicle Registrations	2,280,165	3,047,330

Automobiles per Capita	0. 65	0. 57
People per Automobile	1. 53	1. 76
Licensed Drivers per Automobile	1. 04	1. 43

Vehicles per Capita	0. 73	0. 87
People per Vehicle	1. 37	1. 15
Licensed Drivers per Vehicle	0. 92	0. 94

Annual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) - TOTAL	19. 431 billion	32. 053 billion
Annual VMT – Rural	4. 996 billion	3. 994 billion
Annual VMT – Urban	14. 435 billion	28. 059 billion

Annual VMT per Licensed Driver – TOTAL	9,222	11,252
Annual VMT per Licensed Driver – Rural	2,371	1,402
Annual VMT per Licensed Driver – Urban	6,851	9,850

Annual VMT per Capita – TOTAL	6,238	9,152
Annual VMT per Capita – Rural	1,604	1,140
Annual VMT per Capita – Urban	4,634	8,012

Source: Connecticut Department of Transportation

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