7 reasons why intersections are so dangerous

 Posted on May 28, 2021 in Uncategorized

When the light turns green, you remove your foot from the brake and drive into the intersection. Suddenly, a vehicle from your right races through the intersection because the driver is trying to beat the light that has already turned red. It may have been a near miss, but perhaps you weren’t so lucky.

Intersections are among the most common places for accidents to occur. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration reports that about half of all motor vehicle accidents happen at intersections, and almost all of them are the result of a driver making a terrible mistake. If you are recovering from injuries resulting from an intersection crash or you lost a loved one in such a tragedy, you likely want answers to your questions, particularly when it comes to knowing who is responsible.

What goes wrong?

Even in a quiet Dallas County neighborhood, chances are that there is a lot going on at any intersection. Not only might there be traffic coming from any direction, but a driver may also have to deal with children playing, pedestrians, people on bikes, directional signs, animals and other factors. Additionally, many drivers have their own distractions inside the vehicle, which increases the chances of an accident. The most common reasons why crashes occur at intersections include the following:

• Drivers not taking time to look in all directions
• Drivers making wrong predictions about the actions of another vehicle
• Drivers turning from one street to another without having a clear view in that direction
• Drivers making U-turns or other illegal or unsafe moves
• Drivers misjudging the speed of other vehicles
• Drivers eating, using a cellphone, adjusting controls within the vehicle or other distractions
• Drivers going too fast to avoid a collision

Unlike other places on the road, at an intersection, there a greater chance for every kind of collision, from rear-end to head-on, side-swipe and T-bone. Unfortunately, not every driver realizes this. Those who fail to slow down when approaching an intersection, refuse to use their turn signals or try to beat the light place your life and the lives of other motorists in grave danger.

Defensive driving

You can certainly take precautions to reduce the chances of being involved in an intersection accident by slowing down and remaining alert. However, not every driver will exercise the same caution. Unfortunately, the rates of injuries and deaths in intersection accidents remain high. Despite improved safety features in vehicles and countless public service campaigns urging safe driving, it is still possible that you will encounter a negligent driver who will leave you suffering with traumatic injuries and a lifetime of emotional scars.