If you’re a responsible driver, you probably already know you should always obey all traffic laws when you’re on the road. Doing so makes accidents less likely. Driving defensively should help as well.
However, you should also know that many accidents happen in particular places. If you understand this, you can exercise caution if you find yourself in one of them. In this article, we’ll talk about some places where you should watch out as a driver since the stats say more accidents happen there than elsewhere.
Intersections
You could certainly say that intersections see more accidents than other stretches of road. In New York City alone, intersection-related accidents happen over 2 million times per year, or so says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. You can expect similar numbers in other large cities.
Simply put, people make many decisions at intersections, and they don’t always choose wisely. In an intersection, you often have a stop sign, if not multiple ones. If someone doesn’t see a stop sign or they decide to ignore it, they might still cruise through the intersection safely. They may also cause a T-bone or even a head-to-head collision with another driver who doesn’t have very sharp reflexes.
You also see traffic lights at intersections often. A driver may try to run through a yellow light or even a red one. That’s another situation where you might very well see an accident.
You also have to factor in vehicles turning in intersections. Left turns, in particular, cause many intersection crashes.
If you have someone turning left, but they don’t have a green arrow in their favor, they do not have the right of way until they can safely turn with no cars coming toward them. If you have someone turning left trying to clear the intersection before the light turns red and a car coming from the opposite direction trying to speed through the light, that could spell disaster.
What’s worse, you can sometimes have multiple-car accidents in intersections if a driver makes a bad decision during rush hour or another busy time of day. Keep all of this in mind when you’re approaching an intersection. You’re entering a place of potential danger, so you should be on high alert.
Highway Exit Ramps and On-Ramps
Highways see plenty of accidents as well. They will often cause more serious injuries and even deaths because you have cars going at a higher rate of speed than on the average local road. On highways, an accident can occur anywhere, but exit ramps and on-ramps see more than their fair share of vehicular collisions.
Generally, that’s because you’ll have some drivers who don’t adhere to an established traffic pattern when they’re on the highway already and letting in another car from the on-ramp. Drivers trying to get on the highway who don’t know how to enter the traffic flow seamlessly can cause collisions as well.
In traffic school, you might hear your instructor talk about a zipper traffic pattern. You may also watch a video during these sessions that mention the same concept. There’s this idea that you and the cars around you, if you have one lane merging into another, should take turns while you do it. One car will enter the new lane and another will close the gap behind it. Another new car will enter the lane, and so forth. The cars close together into a straight line like the teeth on a zipper.
However, if you have an overly cautious or aggressive driver, they might not follow this traffic pattern. Instead, they may speed up at the last moment and not let a driver in from the on-ramp. You may also have a driver entering from the on-ramp who panics and slams on the brakes rather than entering the new lane at the appropriate time.
Either situation can prove deadly. Know about these possibilities when you’re either letting cars onto the highway from on-ramps or when you’re entering the highway using one.
One-Way Streets
You’d think that as a driver, a one-way street would not present any major issues. You can usually see a large, clearly noticeable sign that indicates you’re going the wrong way on one. However, if you add an intoxicated driver to the mix, they might not see that sign.
If an intoxicated driver heads the wrong way up a one-way street, they can cause a dreaded head-to-head collision. They’re far more dangerous than a fender bender or a sideswipe accident. Since you have two vehicles approaching each other head-on, you might see some devastating injuries from such a wreck.
You may also see a collision on a one-way street if one of the drivers ingests drugs before driving. In some states, you can now legally use marijuana without a medical reason. Like alcohol, you shouldn’t drive after doing so, but that does not stop certain reckless individuals.
You sometimes see older adults who probably shouldn’t drive anymore go the wrong way up a one-way street. Individuals in a new city who don’t know the layout might also do it if they miss seeing a one-way sign. If you also add in some bad weather, that makes these wrecks even more likely since heavy rain or snow can obscure a one-way sign.
If you know about these places where traffic accidents occur, you can watch out for them. However, you should also remember that with modern car accidents, distracted driving often plays a part. The stats clearly show this.
Something can distract you as a driver at any time. Perhaps you’re having an engrossing discussion with someone in the passenger’s seat, or maybe you let your music or a billboard distract you. Other times, you can point to a car’s navigation system or a driver’s smartphone as the reason behind a crash. By avoiding distractions and staying watchful in the places we mentioned, you can do your part in keeping the roads safer.
