There are more wrecks than ever happening in Cullman these days.

As the city continues to expand with new retail options and restaurants in just about every direction, it’s also created additional traffic in the downtown highways and arteries.

According to data from the Cullman Police Department, the amount of vehicle crashes within the city peaked at 915 in 2015, spiking from 789 the previous year. The amount of wrecks has steadily climbed since 2011, increasing at a rate of 20-30 more wrecks per year, until the significant jump in 2015.

Cullman Police Chief Kenny Culpepper said he believes the biggest problem boils down to the most obvious culprit: more people traveling means more traffic on local streets.

“It’s more traffic, and just anecdotally, you’re seeing more and more traffic jams in the mornings and afternoons, with school and work traffic,” he said. “You used to be able to just come in and drive straight to work, but now there’s essentially a line at every major intersection.”

It’s harder to quantify with data, but Culpepper said distracted driving is also a factor, with devices ranging from cell phones to GPS contributing to more people than ever taking their eyes off the road.

On average, Fridays featured the highest amount of crashes, while Sundays had the lowest amount. Looking at the five-year period, July had the lowest amount of accidents, while April had the highest amount.

Intersections are the most likely place for a crash to occur, at 67 percent of all accidents. Of all accidents, 41 percent were designated as minor with no injuries. Approximately 41 percent of the wrecks were rear-end (front to rear) crashes, with 20 percent side-impact accidents. Eight percent were angled side impact, and 8 percent were side swiped from the same direction.

The increase in wrecks has also come at a time when the Cullman Police Department is understaffed, due to several recent retirements. Once they manage to ramp back up to full staff, Culpepper said they hope to strategize and focus on problem areas to battle the increase in crashes.

“We definitely have some ideas of how to work things more efficiently,” he said. “We have four officers in the academy, and in the process of hiring three more, so right now we’re just trying to replenish. But once we do, we have some strategies we’ll be using.”

Though more accidents is never a good thing, Culpepper was quick to note the additional traffic is always a “good problem” to have.

“We have people in Cullman, wanting to be in Cullman, and that’s always something you want to see,” he said. “Looking ahead, the state is planning to widen Highways 157 and 278, and that will help us tremendously.”

The amount of accidents involving a DUI charge has also increased overall since 2010 and 2011, though numbers have remained relatively steady over the past three years. There were eight DUI crashes in 2010, seven in 2011, six in 2012, 13 in 2013, 11 in 2014, 13 in 2015 and just two year-to-date in 2016.

* Trent Moore may be contacted at 256-734-2131, ext. 134.

• 2016 (to date): 346
• 2015: 915
• 2014: 789
• 2013: 757
• 2012: 738
• 2011: 708
• 2010: 745