Community Corner
Crash Mapping Project Puts Traffic Injuries into Perspective
There are an average of 2.5 injury-causing collisions every day in the East Bay, according to data from the TIMS project at UC Berkeley.
In Martinez between 2000 and 2008, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was one of the top causes of traffic collisions resulting in injury, accounting for 20 percent of crashes. Another 20 percent of injury-causing collisions involved “improper turning.”
The launch of the Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) this month means free access to collision data from 2000 to 2008, with maps detailing the location, circumstances and level of injury for each traffic accident. Researchers at UC Berkeley’s Safe Transportation Research and Education Center began the project in 2003 as a means of making collision data easily accessible for analysis.
The data shows that in the East Bay counties of Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano between 2000 and 2008, there were an average of 910 injury-causing traffic crashes per year, or 2.5 per day.
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Alameda County had the highest number of injury-causing crashes, at an average of 479 per year, followed by Contra Costa County at 288 on average per year. Solano County experienced an average of 144 injury-causing traffic collisions each year.
In the East Bay, about 20 percent of these crashes resulted in death. The causes for road deaths and injuries between 2000 and 2008 can be attributed to three main causes: driving at an unsafe speed, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and “improper turning.”
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Alameda County racked up the most crashes resulting in death or serious injury, 4,310 in the nine-year data span. Of that number, 20 percent involved speeding and 19 percent involved alcohol or drugs. During the same period in Contra Costa County, 22 percent of accidents with injuries involved alcohol or drugs, and 19 percent were caused by speeding. About 21 percent of injury-causing accidents in Solano County involved speeding, with 20 percent caused by “improper turning” and 19 percent involving driving intoxicated. The fatality rate in the three counties is highest in Solano at 27 percent, followed by Contra Costa County at 22 percent and Alameda County at 20 percent.
Alameda County had the highest rate of collisions with pedestrians at 22 percent of all injury-causing traffic crashes, and Contra Costa County experienced the most injury-causing motorcycle collisions at 17 percent.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY 2000 - 2008:
Collision Severity
Factor
Number
Percent
Severe Injury
2025
78%
Fatality
570
22%
TOTAL
2595
100
Pedestrian Collision
455
18%
Bicycle Collision
204
8%
Motorcycle Collision
442
17
Truck Collision
94
4%
Factor
Number
Percent
Unknown
120
5%
Driving or Bicycling Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drug
576
22%
Impeding Traffic
0
0%
Unsafe Speed
490
19%
Following Too Closely
5
0%
Wrong Side of Road
137
5%
Improper Passing
21
1%
Unsafe Lane Change
79
3%
Improper Turning
370
14%
Automobile Right of Way
189
7%
Pedestrian Right of Way
100
4%
Pedestrian Violation
194
7%
Traffic Signals and Signs
146
6%
Hazardous Parking
3
0%
Lights
0
0%
Brakes
0
0%
Other Equipment
5
0%
Other Hazardous Violation
24
1%
Other Than Driver (or Pedestrian)
64
2%
Unsafe Starting or Backing
22
1%
Other Improper Driving
25
1%
Pedestrian or "Other" Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drug
10
0%
Fell Asleep
15
1%
Not Stated
0
0%
Others
0
0%
TOTAL
2595
100%
MARTINEZ 2000 - 2008:
Collision Severity
Factor
Number
Percent
Severe Injury
39
64%
Fatality
22
36%
TOTAL
61
100%
Pedestrian Collision
14
23%
Bicycle Collision
7
11%
Motorcycle Collision
7
11%
Truck Collision
0
0%
Factor
Number
Percent
Unknown
3
5%
Driving or Bicycling Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drug
12
20%
Impeding Traffic
0
0%
Unsafe Speed
10
16%
Following Too Closely
0
0%
Wrong Side of Road
2
3%
Improper Passing
1
2%
Unsafe Lane Change
0
0%
Improper Turning
12
20%
Automobile Right of Way
6
10%
Pedestrian Right of Way
3
5%
Pedestrian Violation
7
11%
Traffic Signals and Signs
3
5%
Hazardous Parking
0
0%
Lights
0
0%
Brakes
0
0%
Other Equipment
0
0%
Other Hazardous Violation
0
0%
Other Than Driver (or Pedestrian)
1
2%
Unsafe Starting or Backing
0
0%
Other Improper Driving
0
0%
Pedestrian or "Other" Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drug
0
0%
Fell Asleep
1
2%
Not Stated
0
0%
Others
0
0%
TOTAL
61
100%
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