Kingston Police report 1,429 vehicle collisions in first half of 2023
The Kingston Police Services Board received the Kingston Police Collision Report for the first half of 2023 at its meeting Thursday, Jul. 20, 2023. The report was prepared by Acting Deputy Police Chief Greg Sands, as Acting Chief of Police Scott Fraser is currently on holidays.
The total number of collisions reported in Kingston during the first half of 2023 was 1,429, a 4.23 per cent increase over the same time last year. Police were in attendance at 37.8 per cent of the collisions, while the vast majority were self-reported, at 62.2 per cent.
Out of the total 2,367 vehicles involved in the collisions this quarter, 84 percent were able to be driven away without a tow truck. A total of 2,373 people were involved in some way in the collisions, and five per cent of them reported injuries, a slight 1.4 percent fewer than the same time last year.
On Highway 401, based on the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations classification of collisions, there were 538 collisions total, 63 fewer than at the same time last year. Those accidents resulted in only one fatality and 92 non-fatal injuries reported. Of those collisions, 394 were listed as “PD Only” which refers to property damage only, no injuries.
Somewhat surprisingly, the vast majority of collisions in the first and second quarter occurred in clear environmental conditions.
Pedestrians were involved in 22 collisions so far this year. Nearly half of those incidents occurred in parking lots. The rest occurred at intersections or were intersection-related, save one. In those incidents, nine of the drivers were deemed to have been safely and properly operating their vehicles, while nine collisions were due to failure to yield the right of way. A total of 21 pedestrians were injured, with no fatal injuries.
A total of 23 collisions involved drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol, with over half of those drivers losing control of their vehicles. Of those collisions, 18 involved drivers who were over the legal limit of bloodstream alcohol, while only one had been using drugs.
The Bath Road and Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard intersection was the most dangerous intersection for collisions, with 14 incidents at that intersection so far in 2023 (one of which involved injuries). The Gardiners Road intersections with Princess Street (13 incidents, one with injuries), Taylor-Kidd Boulevard (13 incidents, one with injuries), and Bath Road (12 incidents, no injuries) were not far behind. The number of collisions at the intersection of John Counter and Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevards tied the number at the intersection of Gardiners and Bath Roads (12 incidents, no injuries).
Striking statistics on collision trends
The report also included some data on collision trends: some of these statistics are anecdotally interesting, others quite sobering. These numbers refer to collisions that have occurred from the beginning of January to the end of June 2023:
- More collisions (274) occurred in January than in any other month of the year so far, with the fewest collisions so far occurring in May 2023 (208).
- More collisions occurred at or around 4 p.m. (146) than at any other time of day, with the fewest collisions occurring at or around 3 a.m. (six).
- More collisions occurred on Thursdays (263) than on any other day of the week; however, collisions on Fridays (256) were close behind. The lowest number of collisions occurred on Sundays (135).
- Of collisions involving commercial vehicles (total of 36), three of these (or 8.3 per cent) involved injuries.
- Of collisions involving motorcycles (total of seven), all of them involved injuries.
- Of collisions involving cyclists (total of seven), all but one of them (or 85.7 per cent) involved injuries.
The report was submitted to the board for information only and can be viewed in full here by the public.
With files from Tori Stafford.