MPO staff presented the Tippecanoe County 2023 crash report at the Aug. 14 MPO policy board meeting, reporting 20 fatal crashes in 2023 and noting the county’s overall crash totals have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Aria, presenting the report, said: “you can see the number of fatality crashes was 20.” She summarized the county totals and maps in the report, telling the board that injuries were “almost a thousand” and property-damage crashes about 4,100, and that the pattern of crashes in 2023 generally matches historical trends.

Aria said she reviewed each fatal crash in the report and pointed board members to Appendix A (page 74) for a short summary of every fatality crash. “I went through every single location that had a fatality crash and kind of summarize what was happening,” she said, and added that there was not a single common theme across the 20 incidents.

The presentation included map heat maps showing crashes concentrated in higher-volume areas and a small-sample observation that 2023’s 20 fatalities matched a prior high in 2013. Aria described additional analyses in the report: a review of liquor-store and school-zone locations that showed no clear high-level correlation with crashes and an age-based analysis that found drivers ages 70–74 had more crashes than expected compared with other age groups. Aria noted an Indiana driver-license review requirement increases at age 75 and suggested the 70–74 age band as a potential area for further study.

Board members asked for further details about possible common factors (for example speed or alcohol). Aria said the report includes tables on driving-under-the-influence and other contributing factors and reiterated that because 20 fatal crashes is a small statistical sample, it is difficult to draw strong conclusions. She said the full report and its summary are posted on the MPO website and pointed to specific pages for the tables and appendices.

No formal action was taken; the presentation served as an informational item to inform local planning and safety discussions. Staff said they will keep the report available and that board members and jurisdictions can review the appendices and the driver-age and contributing-factor tables for follow-up work by safety partners.