Is Route 66 a 'Dangerous' Road?

This article was reported and written by Field Editor Jayme Kunze. It was posted by Eileen McNamara.

While safe driving is the ultimate solution to preventing car accidents, eastern and central Connecticut drivers know there are some roads that just seem inherently dangerous and have a reputation for collecting high crash counts.

With the help of the state Department of Transportation, Patch took a look at car accident statistics from five of these state roads. 

Despite the drawbacks some see to certain state highways, DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick stressed that almost every single crash in the state could be prevented with better driving.

“They all come back to the same thing, which is motorist or driver error,” Nursick said. 

But along Route 66, which runs through East Hampton, Portland, Middletown and Middlefield, part of the problem clearly is high traffic volume on a highway that appears to have difficulty handling the load, said Portland Police Sgt. Scott Cunningham. 

Route 66 is a major route for people over the Connecticut River via the Arrigoni Bridge and of all the accidents along Route 66 between 2007-2011, the largest number of those was in Portland.

Drivers from numerous area towns use Route 66 as their main commuter route tand are often in too much of a hurry. 

"It’s just really the sheer volume and because peole are just too impatient. We’re getting a drove of people coming through this town.

Here's a rundown of Route 66's accident statistics from 2007-2011, the most recently available data from the state, as well as stats for several other major highways around the state. 


Route 66
(Portions in Middlefield, Middletown, Portland, East Hampton)

• 1,187 crashes
• 7 fatal

Causes

1. Following Too Closely - 372
2. Failure to Grant Right of Way - 198
3. Speed Too Fast for Conditions - 185
4. Driver Lost Control - 84
5. Violated Traffic Control - 56

Middletown - 264 crashes - 22.24 percent
Middlefield - 32 crashes - 2.70 percent
East Hampton - 383 crashes - 32.27 percent
Portland - 508 crashes - 42.80 percent

Route 191
(Portions running through East Windsor, Enfield)

• 134 crashes
• 2 fatal

Causes

1. Failure to Grant Right of Way - 32
2. Following Too Closely - 24
3. Driver Lost Control - 18
4. Violated Traffic Control - 13
5. Animal of Foreign Object in Road - 11

Enfield - 109 crashes - 81.34 percent
East Windsor - 25 - 18.66 percent


Route 85
(Portions running through Waterford (at the Speedbowl), Montville, Salem)

• 340 crashes
• 2 fatal

Causes

1. Following Too Closely - 125
2. Driver Lost Control - 46
3. Failure to Grant Right of Way - 45
4. Speed Too Fast for Conditions - 33
5. Improper Turning Maneuver - 16

Montville - 150 crashes - 44.12 percent
Salem - 133 crashes - 39.12 percent
Waterford - 57 crashes - 16.76 percent

The Local Scoop

Officer Gregg Jacobson of Montville PD said Route 85 is a “main thoroughfare” for commuters traveling from central Connecticut to the southeast shoreline.

“If you sit up there, between 6:30 to 9 in the morning or between 3 and 6 p.m., you'll see the volume of traffic between the two intersections (Route 85 and Chesterfield Road and Route 85 and Route 161.) It's not uncommon to see a backup of traffic from Chesterfield Road south towards Waterford,” he said.

Drivers are already encouraged to travel with their headlights on at all times on the roadway. Jacobson said that the DOT has also considered adding turn lanes to the Chesterfield and Route 161 intersections. DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said that the dedicated turning lanes are only a conceptual project at this point.


Route 83
(Portions in Glastonbury, Manchester, Vernon, Ellington, Somers)

• 2,307 crashes
• 4 fatal

Causes

1. Following Too Closely - 1,049
2. Failure to Grant Right of Way - 430
3. Speed Too Fast for Conditions - 123
4. Driver Lost Control - 121
5. Violated Traffic Control - 117

Vernon - 1,033 crashes - 44.78 percent
Manchester - 858 crashes - 37.19 percent
Ellington - 273 crashes - 11.83 percent
Somers - 128 crashes - 5.55 percent
Glastonbury - 15 crashes - .65 percent

The Local Scoop

Vernon Police Department’s Lt. John Kelley commented that the town’s stretch of Route 83 is high on the traffic enforcement list for officers.

“We don’t have an officer assigned specifically to Route 83, but we do, as time permits, send officers out there to do traffic enforcement when they aren’t otherwise occupied,” Kelley said.

“It’s without a doubt, our most heavily traveled road, and the sheer volume of traffic is a contributing factor for accidents,” he continued.

The DOT has installed dividers along some portions of Route 83 in recent years, Kelley confirmed. He said that the department has noticed a reduction in crashes after the installation.


Route 10
(Portions in Avon, Cheshire, Farmington, Granby, Hamden, Plainville, Simsbury, Southington)

• 4,666 crashes
• 1 fatal

Causes

1. Following Too Closely - 2,439
2. Failure to Grant Right of Way - 695
3. Driver Lost Control - 240
4. Animal or Foreign Object in Road - 188
5. Improper Passing Maneuver - 162

Avon - 301 crashes- 6.45 percent
Cheshire- 1,129 crashes - 24.2 percent
Farmington- 306 crashes- 6.56 percent
Granby - 219 crashes - 4.69 percent
Hamden - 181 crashes - 3.88 percent
Plainville - 485 crashes - 10.39 percent
Simsbury - 528 crashes - 11.32 percent
Southington - 1,517 crashes - 32.51 percent

The Local Scoop

Sgt. Jeffrey Dobratz of Southington PD said that the department has been tracking crashes on its portion of Route 10  to isolate the problem areas.

According to the department's statistics from 2008 - 2013, the most crashes on Route 10 (Queen Street/Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike) occurred at intersections with :

• Loper Street - 564 crashes
• Lazy Lane - 458 crashes
• Canal Street - 354 crashes
• Knotter Drive - 327 crashes

The Queen Street stretch received a number of engineering improvements about a decade ago, Dobratz added, including widening the lanes and adding left-turn lanes.

Many restaurants also allow only right-hand turns from their exits, according to Dobratz.

However, Dobratz said he believes that no matter what, there are some traffic conditions engineering can't overcome.

"With that high traffic volume you're just going to get a large number of accidents in that area," he said.

According to the DOT, there were 78,437 crashes in Connecticut in 2011. A total of 209 of the accidents included at least one fatality.