Core risk
Accident & Exposure Risk
Likelihood of crashes and exposure pressure driven by crash frequency, severity, and traffic density. This page explains the public signals behind accident & exposure risk and how they tend to show up in claims and pricing pressure in Fairfield County.
County signal
88
/ 100
Crash frequency is above the national distribution. Fatality severity is above the national distribution. Traffic exposure is above the national distribution.
Metric scores
Sources
Public, regulator-grade inputs used for this risk.
- NHTSA (FARS)
- State DOT crash datasets
- NHTSA fatal & injury stats
- State injury severity data
- FHWA VMT data
- Metro congestion indices
- Local DOT crash maps
- Open crash GIS datasets
Signals tracked
What we measure for this risk
Crash frequency baseline
Reported crash totals in 2023 for Fairfield County.
Coverage: Observed totals. Source: State DOT crash reports (county totals).
Fatality severity baseline
Traffic fatalities in 2023 for Fairfield County.
72.3 per 100k residents.
Coverage: Observed totals. Source: NHTSA FARS 2023 (fatalities).
Traffic exposure baseline
Average commute time in 2023 for Fairfield County.
Source: ACS 2023 commute time (B08303).
Core signals
Primary public inputs that define accident exposure in Fairfield County.
Accident frequency
Crashes per 100k residents with urban vs rural weighting and trend direction.
Sources: NHTSA (FARS), State DOT crash datasets
Accident severity
Fatal and serious injury weighting to capture loss severity pressure.
Sources: NHTSA fatal & injury stats, State injury severity data
Traffic density & congestion
Vehicle miles traveled per capita with congestion multipliers in metros.
Sources: FHWA VMT data, Metro congestion indices
Additional signals
Supplemental exposure signals added as coverage expands.
Intersection risk density
Share of crashes occurring in top 5% of high-risk intersections.
Sources: Local DOT crash maps, Open crash GIS datasets
Why accident exposure matters
Accident exposure captures how often crashes occur, how severe they are, and how much time drivers spend on the road.
- More crashes mean more claims, which can lift pricing pressure over time.
- Severe crashes push claim costs higher even if frequency is stable.
- Congestion and long commutes increase exposure, especially at peak hours.