When you look at car accidents, many of the serious ones happen at intersections. This includes roughly half of all crashes leading to injuries, along with 25% of crashes leading to fatalities. Clearly, going through an intersection is one of the most dangerous things you can do in your car.
Much of the danger is just inherent to the road design. Traffic has to cross paths at an intersection. Some designs, like roundabouts, seek to make this process go more smoothly. But anytime you have roads going in directions that are perpendicular to each other and crossing at the same level, that design increases the potential for an accident.
How can you stay safe?
Part of the problem with intersections is that you are only as safe as the least safe driver around you. You may not make any mistakes at all, but if someone else goes out of turn at a four-way stop or runs a red light, or you could still get injured in an accident.
The best thing to do, then, is to become a defensive driver. Even if it’s your turn at a four-way stop, wait for an extra second to make sure no one else is going to drive. Even if you’re sitting at a traffic signal and the light turns green, look both ways. You may have the right of way, but traffic control devices don’t prevent accidents. It’s much better to wait for that extra second and get home safely.
Have you been injured?
That said, you may already have been injured or lost a loved one in a car accident caused by another driver. You need to know how to seek financial compensation.
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