Total collisions during June higher than previous year

By Greg Ellison

(July 8, 2021) Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing is sounding the alarm about the increased number of traffic collisions this summer.

“We have had an increase of accidents with the calming of the epidemic and the changing of the season,” he said.

Downing said Berlin Police responded to 20 accidents last month, five of which involved personal injuries.

“We used to average around five every two weeks,” he said.

Accident rates last month in Berlin have doubled from the 10 incidents recorded in June 2020.

“Everybody’s going back to work in Ocean City,” he said. “For us, it’s a lot of travel in between and we have all the visitors doing the exact same thing.”

Through the first week of this month, another four accidents have occurred, with one of those resulting in serious injuries.

“It’s trending to be 25 percent a month,” he said.

Downing said most of the crashes result from a motorist’s failure to yield the right of way.

“The reason why you fail to yield the right of way is you weren’t paying attention,” he said.

Common distractions include cell phones, vehicle passengers and loud music.

Increasing dependence on GPS devices, which are often used to bypass congested traffic through alternate routes, is also a frequent contributor to accidents.

“We’ve had some bad accidents where people miss the road they’re suppose to turn at while they’re being navigated purely by a GPS system,” he said. “They’re just whipping through and sometimes not even looking where they’re going.”

Downing also advised that motorists allow themselves ample travel time when they are on the road during peak tourist season.

“Don’t be in a rush is the big word of caution,” he said. “Give yourself enough time to get to your destination and understand that there will be delays.”