8,070 CRASHES IN
MONTGOMERY, MD
2020

Of the 39 total fatalities, 22 were motorists, 14 were pedestrians, and 1 was a cyclist. Among non-fatal injuries, motorists accounted for the largest group with 2,402 injuries. Vulnerable road users also sustained a significant number of injuries, with 294 pedestrians and 128 cyclists injured in crashes.

Crash frequencies peaked on Fridays, which saw 1,356 incidents over the year. The single most common hour for crashes was the 5 p.m. hour, with 618 events. Overall, more crashes occurred during daylight hours (4,924) than during all other lighting conditions combined, including dark, dusk, and dawn (2,915).

The majority of crashes, 5,577 incidents or 69.1%, resulted in no injuries. Crashes involving injuries totaled 2,456, including 1,322 with possible injuries, 941 with minor injuries, and 154 with serious injuries. There were 40 distinct fatal crashes recorded, which resulted in a total of 39 fatalities.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 40 fatal crash events resulted in 39 persons killed.

Environmental conditions were the most cited contributing factors in crashes where a cause was determined. Factors related to weather and road surface, such as "RAIN, SNOW, WET," were noted in 622 crashes (7.7%), and wet road surfaces ("N/A, WET") were a factor in another 445 crashes (5.5%). Encounters with animals were a factor in 68 crashes.

While adverse conditions are a factor in some crashes, the majority of incidents occurred in ideal conditions. Crashes in clear weather accounted for 5,318 incidents, while 5,327 occurred on dry road surfaces and 4,924 happened during daylight. In contrast, 1,094 crashes occurred during rain, and 1,428 crashes were on wet road surfaces.

The data on vehicles involved in crashes shows that passenger cars were the most common type, accounting for 9,738 of the 13,809 vehicles. The most frequently involved vehicle makes were Toyota (2,005 vehicles), Honda (1,632 vehicles), and Ford (1,427 vehicles). Driver age demographics were not available in the provided data.

In crashes where fault was assigned, the driver was determined to be at fault in the vast majority of cases. Drivers were assigned fault in 7,456 incidents, compared to 129 incidents where a non-motorist was determined to be at fault.

Among crashes occurring at intersections with a defined geometry, four-way intersections were the most common location. A total of 2,492 crashes occurred at four-way intersections. T-intersections were the second most common site, with 1,155 crashes.

Crashes were most frequently located at intersections, which accounted for 2,720 incidents. An additional 865 crashes were classified as intersection-related. A significant number of crashes, 1,909, also occurred at non-intersection roadway segments.

The most common road configuration at crash locations was a two-way divided roadway with a positive median barrier, accounting for 3,301 incidents. The second most frequent type was a two-way, not divided roadway, which was the site of 2,518 crashes.

The most frequently reported level of vehicle damage was "Disabling," which was noted for 5,294 vehicles involved in crashes. "Functional" and "Superficial" damage were also common, reported for 3,377 and 3,374 vehicles, respectively. A total of 721 vehicles were reported as "Destroyed."

The provided data on driver actions primarily lists environmental conditions rather than specific driving errors. The most common code recorded was "RAIN, SNOW, WET," appearing 1,051 times. The second most common, "N/A, WET," was recorded 789 times, indicating wet road conditions were a prevalent factor.

Among crashes where driver distraction was a factor, "Looked but did not see" was the most common type reported, with 1,910 instances. This was followed by "Inattentive or lost in thought" with 412 instances and "Other distraction" with 310 instances.

The first harmful event in the majority of crashes was a collision with another motor vehicle, which occurred in 5,235 incidents, or 64.9% of all crashes. The next most common first harmful events were striking a fixed object (1,141 crashes) and striking a parked vehicle (760 crashes).

For non-motorists involved in crashes, safety equipment usage was reported in a minority of cases. A helmet was reportedly used by 73 individuals, and reflective clothing was noted for 10 individuals.

The front of the vehicle ("Twelve Oclock") was the most common point of impact, recorded in 5,626 instances, representing 40.7% of all vehicle impacts. The rear of the vehicle ("Six Oclock") was the second most frequent impact point, with 2,527 instances.

The most common action of vehicles immediately prior to a crash was "Moving constant speed," which was reported for 5,905 vehicles. Other frequent pre-crash actions included "Slowing or stopping" (1,662 vehicles) and being "Stopped in traffic lane" (1,299 vehicles).

For incidents involving pedestrians, the most common reported action was "No improper actions," with 279 instances. Among improper actions cited, "In roadway improperly" was the most frequent with 43 cases, followed by "Dart dash" (31 cases) and "Failure to yield right of way" (28 cases).

The most common type of crash was a rear-end collision between vehicles traveling in the same direction, accounting for 1,936 incidents or 24.0% of all crashes. Single-vehicle crashes were the second most frequent type, with 1,552 incidents (19.2%), followed by straight movement angle collisions with 1,338 incidents (16.6%).

A plurality of crashes, 3,479 incidents or 43.1%, occurred at locations with no traffic controls present. Locations with a traffic signal were the site of 2,414 crashes, and those with a stop sign saw 527 crashes.

Passenger cars were the predominant vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 9,738 of the 13,809 vehicles recorded, or 70.5% of the total. Sport utility vehicles were the second most common type, with 1,194 involved.

Analysis of injury severity for drivers shows that out of 13,809 drivers involved in crashes, 22 sustained fatal injuries (K) and 123 sustained suspected serious injuries (A). The vast majority of drivers, 11,385, had no apparent injury.

Two-vehicle collisions were the most common type, with 4,598 crashes. Single-vehicle crashes accounted for 2,887 incidents, representing 35.8% of the total. The data also includes one multi-vehicle pile-up involving 10 vehicles.