MPO staff present 10-year fatal-crash summary showing different local peak hours and dark-light risk

APC staff presented a 10-year fatal-crash summary to the MPO policy board that highlights local differences in when fatal crashes occur compared with statewide patterns and notes trends in crash types and lighting conditions. Aria (APC/MPO staff) said the report — compiled by intern Bennett — provides a 10-year view because the agency had not produced a report that long before. Staff noted an increase in crashes in recent years compared with earlier historical averages and said the pattern differs by severity: injury crashes peak in October and on Thursdays and Fridays (especially Fridays), while fatal crashes in the MPO area were more likely on Saturdays. The report also showed field crash counts tend to be high in May and October. Aria said statewide fatal-crash peaks are concentrated around AM and PM commute peaks (about 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.), while locally the fatal-crash hourly pattern is different, with notable peaks outside the commute periods; staff suggested shift-work differences may be a factor but said that is "to be determined" and requires additional analysis. Aria also flagged that nearly half of fatal crashes occur in low-light conditions while traffic volumes are heavier in daylight hours, which suggests lighting improvements may be one mitigation avenue. Staff cautioned that with relatively few fatal crashes even across 10 years, identifying statistically strong location-specific patterns is difficult. Aria said the full 2023 annual crash report — covering all crashes, not just fatalities — should be available next month. The fatal-crash summary is available on the MPC website; Aria confirmed it is posted there. Why it matters: understanding temporal and contributing-factor differences in fatal crashes helps MPOs prioritize countermeasures, safety projects and funding requests. Staff recommended further analysis of hourly patterns and possible lighting mitigations. Details: the summary includes month, day-of-week and time-of-day breakdowns; categories of collision manner; reported primary factors; surface and weather conditions; and township-level breakdowns that largely correlate with population and traffic volumes. Staff noted some inconsistencies in crash-reporting categories (for example, overlap between "disregard signal" and "failure to yield") and said that will complicate some counts. Speakers and attributions in this article come only from the meeting transcript.