924 CRASHES IN
MONTGOMERY, MD
FEBRUARY 2020

During this period, 5 individuals were killed and 319 were injured in traffic crashes. Motorists comprised the largest group of injured persons, with 269 injuries and 2 fatalities. Among vulnerable road users, 3 pedestrians were killed and 42 were injured, while no cyclists were killed and 7 were injured.

Crashes occurred most frequently on Fridays, with 148 incidents recorded that day. The single busiest hour for crashes was the 6 p.m. hour, which saw 82 collisions. Overall, crash frequency peaked during evening commute hours, with a significant concentration of incidents between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Of the 924 total crashes, 69.3% (640 incidents) were property-damage-only, resulting in no injuries. The remaining crashes involved possible injuries (158), minor injuries (103), or serious injuries (16). There were 5 fatal crashes during this period, which resulted in a total of 5 fatalities.

Weather and road surface conditions were the most cited contributing factors in the dataset. 'RAIN, SNOW, WET' was listed in 120 crashes (13.0% of all crashes), followed by 'N/A, WET' in 67 crashes (7.3%). Other less frequent factors included road construction and icy conditions.

The majority of crashes occurred in favorable conditions, with 55.6% happening in clear weather and 57.4% on dry road surfaces. Daylight conditions were present for 53.7% of all incidents. Adverse conditions were also a factor, with 23.6% of crashes occurring during rain and 26.1% taking place on wet roads.

In crashes where fault was assigned, a driver was determined to be at fault in 859 cases. This represents 97.9% of at-fault determinations in the dataset. A nonmotorist was found at fault in the remaining 18 cases.

Among crashes occurring at intersections with a defined geometry, four-way intersections were the most common location, accounting for 284 incidents. This represents 63.4% of crashes at specified intersection types. T-intersections were the next most frequent, with 124 crashes.

Crashes were most likely to occur at or near intersections, with 307 incidents happening within an intersection and another 97 classified as intersection-related. Crashes on non-intersection roadway segments accounted for 218 incidents.

Crashes most frequently occurred on roadways described as 'Two-way, divided, positive median barrier,' accounting for 381 incidents. The second most common road type was 'Two-way, not divided,' which was the site of 280 crashes.

Disabling damage was the most frequently reported vehicle condition, noted in 611 instances, or 38.7% of vehicles with damage assessed. Superficial damage was reported for 444 vehicles and functional damage for 403 vehicles. A total of 73 vehicles were reported as destroyed.

Among drivers for whom distraction information was recorded, 234 were noted as having 'looked but did not see'. An additional 59 drivers were reported as 'inattentive or lost in thought'. Specific distractions were less common, with 27 instances of 'other distraction' and 8 cases of distraction by an outside person, object, or event.

The most common first harmful event was a collision with another motor vehicle, which occurred in 624 crashes, representing 67.5% of all incidents. The next most frequent events were striking a fixed object (104 crashes) and striking a parked vehicle (101 crashes).

Frontal impacts, recorded as 'Twelve Oclock', were the most common point of impact, reported for 656 vehicles (39.9% of all vehicles in collisions). Rear impacts, or 'Six Oclock', were the second most common, involving 347 vehicles (21.1%).

The most common pre-crash action for drivers was 'moving constant speed,' reported for 642 vehicles (39.1% of all vehicles). Other frequent actions included 'slowing or stopping' (244 vehicles) and being 'stopped in traffic lane' (193 vehicles).

For the 51 pedestrians involved in crashes, the most common reported action was 'No improper actions,' which was cited 36 times. Where improper actions were noted, they included 'in roadway improperly' (5 instances), 'failure to yield right of way' (3 instances), and 'inattentive' (2 instances).

Rear-end collisions involving vehicles traveling in the same direction were the most frequent crash type, accounting for 261 incidents or 28.2% of all crashes. Single-vehicle crashes were the second most common type, with 152 incidents, representing 16.5% of the total.

The largest share of crashes, 383 incidents (41.5%), occurred at locations with no traffic controls present. Locations with a traffic signal were the site of 274 crashes (29.7%), while 56 crashes occurred at intersections controlled by a stop sign.

Passenger cars were the most common vehicle type involved in crashes, accounting for 1,153 of the 1,644 vehicles (70.1%). Sport Utility Vehicles were the next most frequent with 147 vehicles. Commercial vehicles such as school buses (36) and transit buses (35) were also involved in crashes.

Out of 1,706 people involved in crashes, 5 suffered fatal injuries (0.3%) and 16 sustained serious injuries (0.9%). The majority of individuals, 1,382 people or 81.0%, were not injured. An additional 193 people had possible injuries and 110 had minor injuries.

The majority of incidents, 538 crashes (58.2%), involved two vehicles. Single-vehicle crashes accounted for 302 incidents (32.7%). Multi-vehicle crashes were less common, with 61 crashes involving three vehicles and 12 crashes involving four vehicles.