Midyear crash data reviewed; board probes enforcement and e-bike safety

MPO staff presented year-to-date crash data tied to the Target Zero safety initiative, reporting 23 fatalities in the dataset and noting that serious injuries have trended down in recent years.

The presenter said driver behavior — including red light running, lane departures and distraction — remains a leading factor in crashes, and that intersections and lane departures are recurring problem areas. He noted the afternoon hours around 4 p.m. show a higher incidence of serious injuries.

Board members asked detailed questions about e-bike crashes and whether alcohol involvement by riders is tracked in crash reports. A member said local law enforcement has used probable-cause stops to address e-bike behavior, and another asked whether citation and enforcement data could be correlated with crash reductions. The presenter said crash reports can include alcohol involvement information but that consolidated citation data would likely need to be requested from individual police departments; jail intake records were also mentioned as a source for enforcement trends.

One speaker cited the new state 'super speeder' law and local enforcement activity, saying enforcement of high-speed drivers and removing repeat dangerous drivers from the road is contributing to fewer fatalities and crashes. Board members requested heat maps and before-and-after analyses to identify where reductions have occurred and what interventions have worked.

Why it matters: Understanding causes and timing of crashes helps target safety projects and enforcement priorities. The board asked staff to pursue enforcement and citation data and to prepare analyses that correlate enforcement activity, location-specific changes and crash trends.

What's next: Staff said the crash data item is informational; they will look into available enforcement and citation data and consider heat-map visuals and before-and-after studies for future briefing materials.