ST. LOUIS — Speeding has been the top cause of fatal and serious-injury vehicle crashes in the St. Louis metro area, a new study shows.
The review of the more than 9,500 such crashes from 2018 to 2022 found that excessive speed was a contributing factor in 30% of them.
Speeding was followed by failing to yield, which was a factor in 19% of the incidents; improper lane usage, 16%, and alcohol or drugs, 11%. Disregarding red lights, stop signs and other signals were involved in 9% of the fatal and major-injury crashes, as was distracted driving.
The data is part of a 150-page regional safety action plan compiled by CBB, a Creve Coeur-based traffic engineering firm, for the East-West Gateway Council of Governments.
The Gateway Council, made up of top elected officials from across the metro area and others, voted Wednesday to adopt the plan.
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The council’s action allows local governments to apply for some of $5 billion in special federal safety grants allocated in the infrastructure bill passed by Congress in 2021.
Federal rules require the detailed studies to be submitted first. Kirkwood and St. Charles County previously submitted plans of their own.
The local plan, covering St. Louis city and seven counties in Missouri and Illinois, also analyzes crash locations and outlines strategies such as road reconfigurations to try to achieve a goal of reducing fatal and serious-injury crashes by 50% by 2050. In all, 349,528 crashes were analyzed.
A previous study for East-West Gateway found the region ranks fourth highest among 50 peer regions nationwide for speeding-related crashes.
The new study was approved on a voice vote over objections from St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, who complained that researchers also didn’t analyze statistics on enforcement of traffic laws. That’s what the public really wants to know, he said.
“How are we doing on enforcing the speed limits, the licensing requirements and the insurance requirements” and other laws, he asked. “We can’t rebuild all of our roads because we’ve got a problem with 1 or 2 or 3 percent of the population out there who are driving like NASCAR drivers.”
Shawn Leight, with CBB, said his company focused on crash data readily available in statewide Missouri and Illinois databases and that the study looked into everything federal officials wanted reviewed.
He said it would be more difficult to research enforcement data because there’s not just one repository.
Other findings showed an increase in pedestrian-related fatal and serious-injury crashes, with the number jumping by more than 37% during the four-year period. About 20% of all fatal crashes in the region involved pedestrians.
The study also showed that 18.5% of the region’s residents live in disadvantaged areas but about 40% of fatal and serious-injury crashes took place in such neighborhoods.
The study outlined the most hazardous corridors and intersections in St. Louis city and each county.
In St. Louis, the most hazardous corridor was West Florissant Avenue between Acme and Emerson avenues and the most hazardous intersection was North Kingshighway and St. Louis Avenue.
In St. Louis County, Lewis and Clark Boulevard from Northumberland Drive to the St. Louis border was the most hazardous corridor. The most hazardous intersection in the county was Lewis and Clark at Jennings Station Road.
Jim Wild, Gateway’s executive director, said $650,000 — including a $500,000 federal grant — was spent on the study, which also included input from a 20-member regional committee and representatives from police, municipalities and agencies across the metro area.
Updated at 12:30 p.m. Friday