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Property damage and injury collisions and fatalities in the city of Warsaw were up in 2025 to 841 compared to 811 in 2024, though total injuries were down from 212 in 2024 to 171 in 2025.
There were four fatalities in 2025, compared to two in 2024, according to the Warsaw Police Department annual traffic report for 2025 presented by Chief Scott Whitaker to the Board of Public Works and Safety on Friday.
The same report will be presented to the Traffic Safety Commission at their next meeting, March 4, after some corrections were found to be made at the commission’s Feb. 4 meeting.
City ordinance requires the annual report be given to the mayor, Board of Works and Traffic Safety Commission.
Board of Works member George Clemens said, “Pretty even really, year to year, except for injuries being down. It’s kind of interesting.”
Councilwoman Diane Quance stated, “I actually wish everybody could see this when they complain that the police department isn’t patrolling or doing anything about things because it clearly shows that that’s happening.”
She requested Whitaker send out the report to all the Warsaw Common Council members so they have access to the information “and we can answer those kind of complaints with data rather than a feeling about how things are.”
Mayor Jeff Grose said he appreciated Quance’s comments and thanked Whitaker for all his work in compiling the data. Whitaker thanked Systems Administrator Angie Howard for her help in the tedious task.
“It’s not as easy as it may appear. All the technology and there’s still different variables in play. Trying to accumulate these numbers is not an easy task by any means,” Whitaker stated.
Grose thanked Whitaker and Howard again, stating the report was “very valuable information.”
The board approved a motion acknowledging they had received the report.
According to the report, in 2025 the most collisions occurred in November with 89, up from 82 in 2024; followed by 86 in October, up from 63 in 2024; and 84 in July, up from 63 in 2024.
By day of the week, the most collisions occurred on Friday (169) in 2025, followed by Thursday (136); Wednesday and Monday (123 each); Tuesday, 121; Saturday, 104; and Sunday, 65.
By time of day, the lunch period (11 a.m. to 1:59 p.m.) had the most collisions in 2025 with 217. That was followed by 4 to 6:59 p.m., when people are getting off work with 170; and mid-afternoon (2 to 3:59 p.m.) with 161 collisions.
In 2024, the most collisions by time of day was 4 to 6:59, when people were getting off work, with 194; followed by the lunch period with 158 and mid-afternoon with 143.
As for contributing circumstances, the number one reason in 2024 and 2025 was failure to yield to right-of-way with 168 and 167, respectively. The next top two reasons were following too closely (131 in 2024 and 156 in 2025) and unsafe backing (110 in 2024 and 102 in 2025). Cell phone use was only a contributing circumstance in three collisions in 2024 and in 2025.
Lake City Highway (U.S. 30) had the highest roadway crashes (includes parking lot/private property crashes used with the street name) in 2024 and 2025 at 163 and 203, respectively.
Detroit Street (Ind. 15) had 129 in 2024 and 122 in 2025; followed by Center Street, 81 in 2024 and 88 in 2025; Winona Avenue, 25 in both years; Market Street, 22 in 2024 and 34 in 2025; Walton Boulevard, 30 in 2024 and 19 in 2025; Buffalo Street, 7 in 2024 and 20 in 2025; and Parker Street, 19 in 2024 and 13 in 2025.
As for manner of collisions, 223 were rear-end in 2025, up from 205 in 2024; 192 were right angle, down from 194 in 2024; backing was 104 in both years; and same direction sideswipe was 105 in 2025 and 101 in 2024.
In 2025 WPD issued 1,701 infraction uniform traffic tickets (UTTs); 379 misdemeanor and felony UTTs; and 3,221 warning traffics for a total of 5,301. That’s up from 5,070 in 2024, with warnings increasing the most from 2,843 in 2024 to 3,221 in 2025.
As for infraction UTTs in 2025, there were 226 for seat belts (up from 115 in 2024) and 7 for child restraints (down from 16 in 2024); 604 for speeding (down from 1,126 in 2024); and 89 for driving while suspended (down from 109 in 2024).
Under misdemeanor UTTs, there were 123 in 2025 for operating while intoxicated, slightly up from 121 in 2024; 95 for driving while suspended, down from 130 in 2024; and 52 operator never licensed, up from 39 in 2024.
Under felony traffic, there were 15 OWIs with priors in 2025, down from 23 in 2024; and 9 habitual traffic violators in 2025, up slightly from 8 in 2024.
Then, in the report, under warning traffic, for speed in 2025 there were 1,137, up slightly from 1,134 in 2024; no or improper lights, 606 in 2025, up from 526 in 2024; and disregarding a signal or sign, 268 in 2025, down from 279 in 2024.
The final category of the report in on parking statistics. In 2025, WPD issued 1,126 parking violations and 11 written parking warnings. That’s down from 1,422 and 14 in 2024.
The largest number of parking violations in 2025 were for first overtime parking at 655, up from 416 in 2024; and 290 for improper parking, down from 605 in 2024.
