You might assume that most vehicle crashes involve high-speed collisions on a highway or interstate. The news is full of images of multi-car pile-ups or cars that have been crushed by a truck and other such dramatic collisions.
However, over half of all crashes occur at intersections, where vehicles are typically traveling much slower than they would be on a highway.
Why are intersections so dangerous?
When you are out on a major road, you are segregated from traffic traveling in the opposite direction. All the vehicles you encounter will be traveling in the same direction as you, which makes things much easier as there is far less to worry about.
Intersections require you to think about what motorists coming from several other directions are planning to do. You might also need to consider the movements of pedestrians. All in all, there is a lot going on at an intersection. That means it is easy for you or someone else to misjudge another person’s intentions – especially if they don’t signal properly or make an unexpected move.
What can you do to protect your safety?
It’s not going to be possible to avoid all intersections, but you can think carefully about which ones you must navigate. Some intersections are notorious for collisions. That means that choosing a different route could save you a lot of time and money, even if it takes a few extra minutes of driving to do so. You can also exercise extra caution at the intersections you do use.
That said, you cannot anticipate every action other motorists will make. If one of them does something negligent or reckless that leads to a crash, you’ll want to learn more about your legal options.