In 2011, there were a total of 9,648 automobile crashes in Arizona. Of that total, 319 crashes took place at Tucson’s five most dangerous intersections. In other words, roughly 1 in 30 of Arizona’s car crashes takes place at one of these five intersections. They are:
- Alvernon Way and Grant Road: average of 72 crashes per year from 2010 to 2012,
- Grant and Swan: 69 crashes per year,
- Golf Links Road and Kolb Road: 60 crashes per year,
- Broadway and Wilmot: 60 crashes per year,
- 22nd Street and Kolb Road: 58 crashes per year.
Safe driving practices are always a good idea, but you’d be well advised to exercise extra caution when driving around these areas.
If you or a loved one has suffered injury, death, or property damage as a result of an accident, contact the Khalidi Law Firm today. We have more than 20 years of experience helping injured persons get what they deserve. Don’t wait. Contact us online, or call the Khalidi Law Firm at (520) 629-9909 to schedule a consultation today.
What Makes a Road “Dangerous”?
Of course, those five intersections are not the only dangerous stretches of road in Tucson. Accidents can occur anywhere, and encounters with reckless drivers can be hard to avoid. However, to reduce accidents, authorities are working to improve the state of the roads as much as possible.
That’s why the Pima County Transportation Department developed a Safety Management System to determine which roads have the highest priority when it comes to safety improvements and repairs. The Safety Management System rates intersections and stretches of road on four factors:
- Crash frequency: the number of accidents in that location during the last three years,
- Crash rate: the annual number of accidents divided by the annual number of vehicles that pass through the location in a year,
- Traffic volume: the number of vehicles that go through the location in a period of time (usually a 24-hour period),
- Severity index: a complex metric based on the likelihood of an accident at a given location to cause death, injury, or property damage.
These four factors are put into a formula that calculates the degree of safety concern for a given intersection or stretch of road, and the Transportation Department uses the results to set the priorities for safety-improvement projects.
Which Roads and Intersections are Most Dangerous?
High traffic areas tend to be more dangerous than others. Some of the highest-traffic intersections in Tucson see more than 40,000 cars per day. The five most heavily traveled intersections in the city are Speedway Boulevard and Campbell Avenue, Broadway and Kolb, Grant Road and Tanque Verde, Kolb and 22nd Street, and Golf Links and Kolb.
Unsafe road design is another factor leading to the dangerous situations we encounter on some of Tucson’s roads. Between 1995 and 2005, Pima County settled 181 lawsuits having to do with poor road design. Some of the biggest settlements were for Bowes Road, Redington Road, Kolb and Sunrise, Pontatoc Road, Dodge and Rillito River, Sunset Road, First Avenue, and Sunset and Sunray.
How to Keep Safe
The only way to be completely safe from an accident is to choose not to use the road at all. Since that’s not a realistic option for most of us, consider taking measures to reduce traffic in town. It may seem like individual efforts won’t make any difference, but if enough of us choose to take options like public transport, carpooling, walking, and biking instead of driving, we could significantly reduce traffic congestion and make the roads safer for everybody.
While it may be an ideal solution, overall, it’s unlikely that enough people will choose public transportation to make a discernible difference in the amount of traffic on the roads. Another way to avoid the heavy traffic around congested areas is to plan alternate routes or use those intersections at low traffic times. If you have the option to avoid rush-hour traffic, you should take advantage of it.
Did You Have an Accident? You May Have a Case
If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death in an accident on one of these dangerous roads or intersections as the result of another driver’s negligence, contact our Tucson vehicle accident lawyers at The Khalidi Law Firm. We offer free consultations to determine if you have a case. Our attorneys have more than 20 years of experience helping injured persons in the Tucson area get the closure they deserve. Let us help you, too.
