ROAD SAFETY ANAYLSIS
Delaware Road Safety Analysis
Behavioral Insights Powered by StreetVision
The following road safety report evaluates road risk events in Delaware from January 2026 through March 2026. It examines phone distraction rates, intersection-level hard braking activity, and corridor-level speeding patterns to determine where risk is most concentrated.
The report leverages insights from CMT’s StreetVision, an AI-powered behavioral analytics platform that provides decision-ready insights into roadway risk before crashes occur. Transportation officials use StreetVision to identify hotspots, prioritize high-impact safety interventions, and evaluate the effectiveness of countermeasures.
Here is a snapshot of our findings — covering distraction benchmarking, county-level concentration analysis, high-risk intersection identification, and corridor speeding patterns.
01 PHONE DISTRACTION
Monthly distraction rates: A comparison to the national benchmark
In January 2026, drivers in Delaware recorded 22.78 phone tapping events per 100 miles, compared to the national average of 23.55, placing the state 3.3% below the US benchmark.
In February, the rate was 23.44, a 2.9% increase from the prior month, and 2.6% below the national average.
By March, phone tapping events decreased to 22.84 events per 100 miles, marking a 2.6% decrease from February. It was 3.9% below the US average.
phone tapping events per 100 miles
02 COUNTY ANALYSIS
County-level insights reveal concentrated rates of distracted driving
Across the three-month period, Delaware averaged 23.02 phone tapping events per 100 miles, though county-level data shows variation around that benchmark.
Counties Kent, New Castle, and Sussex, recorded distraction rates ranging from roughly 22 – 23 phone tapping events per 100 miles.
phone tapping events per 100 miles
County Rankings
03 HARD BRAKING
High risk intersections: Where hard braking signals elevated crash risk
Intersections account for roughly 25% of all US traffic deaths and 50% of all traffic injuries. Hard braking often signals near-miss events, making it a leading indicator of elevated crash risk.
An analysis of New Castle County intersections found Hopkins Road & Thompson Station Road & Pleasant Hill Road to be a high-risk hotspot, with 376.6 hard braking events per 100 miles driven.
highest risk
Hopkins Road & Thompson Station Road & Pleasant Hill Road
376.6
hard braking events / 100 mi
other high risk intersections in Delaware
Hard Braking Events per 100 miles
Chambers Rock Road & Thompson Station Road
354.4
Old Kennett Road & Pyles Ford Road
329.7
Smithbridge Road & Brandywine Creek Road
285.4
Locations with persistently high hard braking activity are widely recognized as candidates for proactive intervention — where targeted engineering improvements, enforcement visibility, or behavioral countermeasures may reduce crash risk before crashes occur.
04 SPEEDING PATTERNS
When & Where Speeding Risk Peaks
Speeding behavior in Idaho follows identifiable time-of-day and corridor-level patterns, creating predictable windows of elevated risk.
On Philadelphia Pike in New Castle, DE (35 mph), speeding peaks on Mondays at 12:00 a.m., when 80.2% of driving time exceeds 10 mph over the limit. Additional elevated speeding periods include Fridays at 12:00 a.m. and Tuesdays at 11:00 p.m.
These patterns provide actionable intelligence for speed studies, high-visibility enforcement, public awareness campaigns, and resource allocation decisions.
CORRIDOR ANALYSIS
Dalton Ave
Posted speed limit: 50 mph
Mondays: 12:00 a.m.
80.2%
of driving time exceeds the posted speed limit
Fridays: 12:00 a.m.
64.2%
of driving time exceeds the posted speed limit
These patterns provide actionable intelligence for speed studies, high-visibility enforcement, public awareness campaigns, and resource allocation decisions.
05 SCHOOL ZONES
How fast are drivers going in school zones?
We analyzed speed distribution in the school zone at New Castle Elementary School on Delaware St in New Castle, DE. Our analysis found that 25% of drivers exceed the 35 mph speed limit during school hours. Tuesdays at 6:00 a.m. had the highest rate of speeding, with 55.8% of drivers going over the limit.
Understanding how frequently speeding occurs during school hours helps traffic engineers determine whether stronger safety measures are needed to better protect vulnerable road users.
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