You’ve heard the cliché countless times, that most car accidents occur within miles of your home. The saying is overused but true: according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about 77% of accidents occur within 15 miles of the driver’s home.
But that number is still painting a general picture. Keep reading to learn about the specific locations where most car accidents occur – on highways, parking lots, intersections, and rural roads.
If you were injured in an accident at any of these locations, hold the negligent driver accountable.
Call the nationally-recognized firm Langdon & Emison for legal assistance today. Dial 866-931-2115 now.
Highways
Speeding, following too closely, and driving while distracted are all common causes of highway accidents.
Many people who travel on highways are from out of town, and therefore unfamiliar with local roads. Mistakes made in confusion can be dangerous for locals, and locals’ frustration with out-of-towners’ experience can be dangerous for visitors.
It’s best to use caution when driving on a highway, especially if there’s traffic. It’s also a good idea to give cars with out-of-state plates a little extra room; you never know their familiarity with Missouri roads.
There is no shortage of dangerous highways in Missouri. Many of the accidents that occur in the state each year take place on these major highways:
Highway 63
This highway spans just under 338 miles from the Arkansas border to Iowa. Many news sources ominously call Highway 63 “the most dangerous highway in Missouri,” and for good reason – from 2009 to 2019, there were 179 fatalities on this highway alone, about 20 per year.
I-64
Interstate 64 runs from the southeastern coast of Maryland to just over the Missouri border. Although the interstate ends just 16 miles into the “Show-Me State,” this section of I-64 has a disproportionately high death toll. According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Missouri’s 15-mile portion of I-64 has 1.07 fatal accidents per mile.
Highway 21
Highway 21 has seen a notoriously high number of crashes resulting in serious injury or death.
Parking Lots
Highways take the lead in deadly accidents, but accidents in parking lots are far more common.
Take a look around a crowded parking lot and you’ll see why – cars are packed in like sardines, people are texting or talking on the phone and trying to maneuver the lot, and some people don’t even look behind them before they reverse.
According to CBS News, as many as one in five accidents occurs in a parking lot. And as the National Safety Council reveals, over 60,000 people are injured in parking lots or garage structures (parking garages, etc.) each year.
The most common types of parking lot accidents include:
- When two drivers back into each other
- When a driver pulls out of a space in front of another vehicle
- When two vehicles crash trying to get into the same space
Intersections
In the U.S., most intersections are unsignalized, meaning they don’t have traffic lights. Instead, stop signs and yield signs control traffic, although there are plenty of intersections without either of these measures present.
Intersections can be dangerous or even deadly when drivers fail to follow basic traffic laws, such as coming to a complete stop at a stop sign.
Careless actions like these claim thousands of lives each year. In 2019, 10,180 traffic fatalities occurred that involved an intersection. Those are nationwide numbers, but Missouri has its own issues with intersections.
According to a study that identified 577 intersections where six or more collisions occurred in a one-year period, the most dangerous intersection in Missouri is Oak Street and Truman Road in Kansas City. Twenty-eight crashes and 29 injuries occurred at this location in 2018 alone, making it one of the most dangerous intersections in the state.
Rural Roads
Rural (country) roads may be the least-expected item on this list, but their impact is enormous. It’s true that more accidents occur on urban streets, but crashes on rural roads are far more deadly.
According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, the rate of crash deaths per 100 million people was about two times higher in rural areas than in urban areas. In that year alone, 16,340 people died in car accidents on rural roads, compared to 19,595 on urban streets.
Many experts are calling for simple engineering changes, such as rumble strips, better lighting, and wider shoulders to help prevent accidents and deaths on rural roads.
In Missouri, a largely agricultural and rural state, those simple measures could have a profound impact.
Injured in an accident? Call us.
Many accidents may occur close to home, but just because a crash occurred near where you live doesn’t mean it was your fault. If you were injured in a collision caused by someone else, you may be eligible to recover compensation for your injuries. Our St. Louis personal injury attorneys are here for you.
Call our auto accident lawyers in St. Louis today at (866) 931-2115.
