Added Traffic Enforcement Curbs Local Accident Rate

By Andrew Gorosko

The number of motor vehicle accidents that have occurred on local roads has steadily declined during the past three years due in large part to increased traffic enforcement performed by the police traffic unit and the patrol division, according to a town police department report.

“The efforts of our traffic unit and patrol division have played a strong role in this reduction,” George Sinko, the lieutenant for police operations, wrote in the report submitted to the Police Commission. The commission is the local traffic authority.

“In 2008, Newtown [police] investigated 960 accidents/incidents, in 2009 we investigated 914 accidents/incidents, and in 2010 we investigated 871,” Lt Sinko wrote. The tallies do not include accidents/incidents that occurred on Interstate 84, which is patrolled by state police.

Motor vehicle “incidents” include situations such a vehicle running over a pothole, a vehicle hitting a hanging tree limb, or an object falling on a vehicle.

When “incidents” are subtracted from the 2010 tally, there were 679 “accidents” that town police investigated in 2010.

Lt Sinko found that in 2010, Route 25 had 185 accidents, Route 34 had 78 accidents, Church Hill Road had 72 accidents, Route 302 had 34 accidents, and Wasserman Way had 21 accidents.

The police department has focused its accident-prevention efforts on Route 25 in a drive to reduce the number of accidents on that road, according to Lt Sinko.

Depending upon the location, Route 25 is known as Hawleyville Road, Mt Pleasant Road, Main Street, or South Main Street. For the purposes of the report, the section of Mt Pleasant Road extending between its intersections with Hawleyville Road and the Bethel town line is included as part of Route 25, although that road section actually is part of Route 6.

The steps police have taken to cut the accident rate on Route 25 include radar speed enforcement, seatbelt enforcement, distracted driver enforcement, commercial truck enforcement, DUI patrols, and DUI checkpoints, according to Lt Sinko.

On Route 25, in 2008 there were 216 accidents, in 2009 there were 208 accidents, and in 2010 there were 185 accidents, he added. Thus, in 2010 there were 14 percent fewer accidents on Route 25, than there were in 2008, according to the lieutenant.

Averages

The average number of accidents per month investigated by town police during 2010 was 57, compared to average of 60 accidents per month during 2009, and an average of 64 accidents per month during 2008, reflecting a steady decline in the accident rate, according to the report.

“Enforcement and traffic safety measures implemented by our department appear to be having a positive effect on lowering the number of accidents that occur per month,” Lt Sinko wrote in the report.

“Our commitment to traffic initiatives appears to having a positive effect on [the accident rate] throughout the town. We will strive to maintain these initiatives in an effort to continue the positive results we have seen,” Lt Sinko wrote.

In 2010, there were 128 accidents with injuries, compared to 93 accidents with injuries in 2009, and 117 accidents with injuries in 2008.

In 2010, town police investigated their first fatal accident since 2006.

The analysis showed that in 2010, 68 percent of local accidents occurred on just 11 local roads. The town has 592 roads.

The highest number of accidents occurring in 2010 happened during the commuter rush period of 3 to 6 pm.   

The winter months continue to have the highest occurrence of accidents.

The roads with the most accidents involving deer are Route 25, Route 34, Route 302, Wasserman Way, and Toddy Hill Road. The report indicates there were 67 deer collisions in 2010, there also were 67 such accidents in 2009, and 99 such cases in 2008. The 2010 month with the highest number of deer collisions was October, with 10 such accidents.

In 2010, police investigated 12 accidents at the flagpole intersection on Main Street. In 2009, there were 17 accidents there, and in 2008 there were 18 accidents at that location.

Of the 12 accidents at the flagpole intersection in 2010, five accidents involved injuries.

Traffic enforcement efforts and public education on accident prevention have combined to reduce the local accident rate, according to Lt Sinko.

“We will continue to monitor problem areas and implement strategies that that will help us keep accidents as low as possible,” according to the lieutenant.