PORTLAND, Maine — The Portland Police Department on Thursday released what it said will be the first of a new series of weekly social media posts detailing the latest motor vehicle crash data.
The Facebook post revealed the number, locations and nature of crashes in the city between June 25 and July 1, as well as some year-to-date numbers.
Forest Avenue is where drivers are most likely to run into trouble, showing up three times on the top-five list. According to police, for the first six months of this year, the intersection of Stevens Avenue and Forest Avenue is where the most crashes have occurred.
Second on the list is where Riverside Street and Larrabee Road meet, followed by the Forest Avenue and Riverside Street intersection.
Fifth on the police list is where Marginal Way meets Forest Avenue.
The post did not specify how many crashes occurred at each location but said the hours between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. were when most crashes took place.
There had been 157 crashes in Portland as of July 1. Of those, 83, or a little over half, were chalked up to distracted driving. Speed was the cause in 39 cases, and 35 were caused by drivers under the influence.
Between June 25 and July 1 alone, the police reported 59 crashes in the city. Of those, seven were hit-and-runs and seven involved personal injury to someone.
“As you can see, distracted driving is the [number one] cause of accidents in Portland,” the police said. “Please stay focused on the task at hand while driving and keep everyone safe!”