To the Editor:

A local daily newspaper recently ran a “Dangerous Roads” series, which profiled several Danbury area towns. It was reported that traffic accidents in Newtown had dropped when compared with the prior year. In fact, traffic accidents have declined by six percent over the past three years. While this is good news, we still experienced 824 crashes during 2018, with 552 on local roads vs l-84. A deeper look into Connecticut’s Crash Data Repository (ctcrash.uconn.edu) and The Bee’s weekly Police Report column highlights the opportunity to continue to improve road safety.

The minutes from Police Commission meetings during 2018 indicate that they focused on safety concerns related to Toddy Hill Road, speed limits on Routes 6 and 25, restriction of truck “thru traffic” on selected roads, installation of traffic lights, and sign placement on rural roads. The insights gleaned from the currently available data suggests we have a new set of issues that require attention, including the accident-prone strip of Route 25 from Glover Avenue to Pecks Lane, dangerous intersections — e.g. Berkshire and Pole Bridge Roads, Hattertown and Poverty Hollow Roads, South Main Street, and Mile Hill Road — and an unusually high concentration of accidents within a half-mile radius surrounding l-84, exit 9. The cluster around l-84, exit 10, also merits attention. A further review of these data indicates that seat belt utilization could be improved. During 2018, 87 percent of occupants in a vehicle involved in an accident utilized a safety restraint. While this is a marked improvement vs prior years, this rate falls below the national average, as reported by the National Highway Safety Administration, and presents an opportunity to reduce injuries and save lives. Beyond ferreting out hotspots, data analytics could be used to channel traffic enforcement resources to high accident-prone time slots, e.g. a high frequency of accidents on Tuesdays between 5 to 6 pm. This pattern has remained constant over the past three years. As you examine these data, it highlights the need to improve the proficiency of novice/teen drivers and the opportunity to strengthen driver education programs, including the use of new technologies such as virtual reality driver training simulators.

As goals are set for the Police Department’s Patrol Operations Bureau for the upcoming year, members of the Police Commission should focus on improvement opportunities that have been highlighted, as well as make greater use of data resources to augment the issues and concerns that are raised during the public participation portion of their meetings. Over the past five years, community data programs, a movement in a nascent stage in Connecticut, especially at the local level, have strived to foster more effective government through “open” data. Crash data analytics is one example. The use of data, however, presents a much greater opportunity and should be woven through every aspect of Newtown’s governmental activities. It is the engine that drives transparency, accountability, and ultimately, results. In the case of crash data, safer roads.

Joseph Smialowski

20 Taunton Hill Road, Newtown         February 8, 2019