An auto accident takes place in the U.S. about once every 5.2 seconds. Tens of thousands of people die each year due to motor vehicle collisions, and hundreds of thousands more are injured. And millions of people are forced to submit claims to their auto insurance carriers annually.
So where are all of these crashes happening?
Statistically speaking, there are certain places where auto accidents are more likely to occur. Here are five of these common places (in no particular order):
Intersections
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It stands to reason that spots where two directions of traffic come together are prone to produce more crashes. This is especially true if the intersection is unregulated or only has stop or yield signs to regulate traffic flow. Side-impact collisions frequently occur and intersections when a vehicle attempts to make a left turn or cross a busy road.
Stoplights
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Though stoplights do serve a purpose in controlling traffic flow, they can present problems for motorists as well. Rear-end collisions are common when drivers fail to stop in time for a vehicle in front of them who is sitting at a red light. If the initial impact takes place further away from the stoplight, it can even cause a chain-reaction accident involving several vehicles.
Busy two-lane roads
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Roads in non-residential areas which have moderate speed limits are prime places for head-on collisions. With only one lane traveling in each direction, there’s little margin for error if a vehicle drifts over the center line at the wrong time. Head-on collisions also tend to occur when one vehicle tries to pass a slower one in front of it by speeding into oncoming traffic.
Rural highways
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Even though there are fewer vehicles on the road, rural highways are often the site of one-car crashes. Why? Because the ennui of driving in desolate areas can lead to driver inattention – which is when cars run off the side of the road. Spotty roadway maintenance and occasional road debris can increase the odds of these types of crashes.
Parking lots
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Even though few high-speed wrecks take place in parking lots, they are hotbeds of fender benders because there are few or no traffic rules. Combine that chaos with dozens or hundreds of cars in close proximity to one another, and you’ve got a recipe for bent bumpers and scraped paint. Plus, pedestrians tend to appear from behind vehicles without warning, which makes parking lots even more dangerous for people walking to and from their vehicles.
Obviously, you can’t avoid all of these accident-prone places when you are driving; otherwise, there wouldn’t be any place for you to drive. But if you make yourself aware of the dangers lurking in these accident hotspots, you can be extra cautious and alert – which will lower the odds of getting involved in a crash.
