How to Drive Safely at Dangerous Intersections

The What and Why of Intersection Crashes 

An intersection is a road junction where two or more roadways meet, cross, or converge. In other words, functionally, an intersection is where traffic moving in different directions all comes together. If you live in an urban area, you navigate intersections dozens of times every day. And if you’re taking a road trip, you will encounter huge mazes of intersections that look like the most complicated Lego fantasies.

Intersections can be designed in a number of different configurations and sizes. In traffic design, intersections can contain as many as six streets converging. For example, a six-way intersection can involve the crossing of two perpendicular streets and yet another street that crosses them diagonally. Highway intersections can become extremely complex, with as many as eight or ten roadways converging.

It is no wonder that so many crashes happen at intersections where multiple drivers and pedestrians are engaged in different, often conflicting, motions: crossing over, turning left, or turning right.

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 40% of all crashes nationwide – and 21% of all fatal crashes – occur at intersections.
• In Florida, nearly 29% of statewide traffic fatalities between 2006 and 2010 related to intersections. In that five-year period, 4,719 people were killed and another 50,408 were seriously injured in intersection-related crashes.

The NHTSA’s September 2010 Study of Crash Factors in Intersection Related Crashes identifies some common driver patterns that lead to intersection accidents:

• While crossing over at intersections with traffic signals or stop signs, crashes are commonly caused by a driver’s lack of attention or illegal maneuvers. Drivers turning left at intersections with traffic signals or stop signs are likely to become involved in accidents because their view is obstructed or they misjudge the speed of an oncoming vehicle. Crashes involving right turns at stop signs are often attributed to a driver’s false assumption about another vehicle’s actions.
• Analysis of intersection crash factors notes several age distinctions: Accidents involving drivers age 24 and younger at traffic signal intersections are likely to be caused by a driver’s internal or external distraction, a false assumption of another vehicle’s action, or speeding/aggressive driving. Drivers 25 to 54 at intersections controlled by traffic signals are commonly involved in crashes because of “critical non-performance error” (such as from fatigue or medical impairment), illegal maneuvers, inattention, or aggressive driving.  Among drivers 55 years old and older, crashes at intersections where there are stop signs tend to be caused by inadequate surveillance or misjudging the speed of another vehicle.
• Female drivers involved in crashes at intersections controlled by traffic signals are likely to have misjudged other drivers’ actions or to have been distracted by an internal circumstance. Male drivers, on the other hand, are more likely to have been involved in traffic signal intersection crashes because of critical non-performance errors, illegal maneuvers, or aggressive driving/speeding.

In Florida, a statewide Intersection Safety Implementation Plan first developed in 2006 has been credited with a five-year decline in intersection-related fatalities and serious injuries. The Florida plan included new intersection signal designs and identification of high-crash locations where countermeasures could be developed specific to those locations. In 2009, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) adapted a systemic approach focusing on stop sign control on side streets of high-speed divided highways. This approach also encouraged review and use of new techniques for signal timing for pedestrians.

Stats and Facts About Dangerous Intersections

Here is some factual information that will make you think about intersection safety . . . and think twice before you run a red light!

• An estimated 40% of motor vehicle crashes occur at an intersection or are intersection related.
• 21% of all fatal crashes occur at an intersection.
• 49% of crashes in urban areas occur at an intersection.
• More than 32,000 people are killed in motor vehicle wrecks each year.
• An additional 2.2 million Americans are injured annually in vehicle accidents.
• Two out of three people say that a few times each week they witness someone running a red light. Many report that they see this happen once a day.
• One of three Americans knows someone killed or injured as a result of an accident caused by red light running.
• Of 1.9 million intersection crashes, 219,000 were the result of red light running.
• In 2009, 7,043 people were killed in vehicle crashes related to intersections. In 2008, 7,809 people were killed. In both years, this represents 21% of total fatalities nationwide.
• 92% of motor vehicle crashes occurring in an intersection happen in dry weather.
• 61% of intersection crashes occur on undivided roadways; 37% happen on divided roads.
• Age groups with the largest percentage of intersection accidents are 21 to 34, 35 to 39, and 65+ years old.
• 78% of Americans believe street intersections are dangerous and should be made safer.
• The cost to society for vehicle crashes is more than $96 billion per year.

Advice for Safer Intersections and Safer Driving

Here are some quick tips for navigating intersections, avoiding accidents, and arriving safely at your destination.

1. Aggressive driving. Speeding up to “make” a red light is a dangerous practice. A yellow light means to prepare to stop; by the time a light is red, you should be stopped or slowing to a stop.
2. Distracted driving.  Talking on the phone and texting are obvious distractions and are illegal in almost all states. But there are many other examples of distracted driving that may contribute to an accident, such as shaving, applying makeup, or looking at a map.