Driving In Vegas: Where You Need To Be Extra Careful
It’s widely known by locals that driving in Vegas has gotten more and more risky. We just reported last week that car-to-car collisions has increased over the last years.
Similar reports have indicated we can’t turn, or go straight for that matter, without an increased risk of accident. And now a new study has revealed one of the most dangerous locations to be when driving in Vegas.
Driving In Vegas Is Extra Risky In Four-Way Intersections
An intersection near Sunset and Pecos in Las Vegas shows cars lined up in a right-hand turn lane on the opposite side of the street. This is where many driving in Vegas must brake quickly when they are cut off in the middle of the 4-way intersection by a driver turning right on a red (photo by Wendy Rush/BMG Las Vegas).
The study was done by personal injury law firm Injured In Florida. They collected information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
They analyzed data about crashes that occurred in various intersections in Nevada. They specifically focused on the data surrounding fatal accidents in these areas between 2017 and 2021.
The most common type of intersection where deadly crashes occurred during the timeframe was the four-way intersection. Those accidents accounted for 70.1% of all recorded intersection crashes that ended in a fatality. Out of the 502 fatal crashes studied for the timeframe in question, a staggering 352 occurred in a four-way intersection.
Not surprisingly, similar results were found when the driving history of entire country was analyzed. Nationally, between 2017 and 2021, 44,219 fatal crashes occurred in an intersection. And 27,335, or 61.82%, happened in a four-way intersection.
Other Dangerous Intersections When Driving In Las Vegas
Stop sign in on a street junction at night. This kind of T-intersection isn’t the most dangerous for those driving in Vegas, but it’s not the safest either (theowl84/Getty Images).
Coming in second in the study, both in Nevada and across the country, was the T-intersection. In Nevada, fatal accidents in these intersections made up 24.3% of the total intersection accidents for the timeframe. On a nationwide level, 33.42% of intersection car fatalities were in a T-intersection.
Aerial view of roundabout. Intersections like this, with five or more points of intersection, is not the safest for those driving in Vegas, but still far less dangerous than other types of intersections in Nevada (MariuszSzczygiel/Getty Images).
When it came to the third most dangerous type, Nevada saw a different result compared to the country as a whole. Nevada’s third most dangerous intersection is the Five Point + Intersections, which accounts for 2.8% of fatal intersection crashes. Nationwide, third place goes to the Y-Intersection, with 2.44% representation.
Not many cars pass along these intersecting roads, which stand out strikingly against the Namib Desert sands. You don’t see many Y-intersections like this while driving in Vegas which is probably why we don’t have a lot of accidents on them (PK Visual Journeys via Getty Images).
Precautions To Take When Driving In Vegas
As a local, I’ve seen too many fatal accidents occur at a four-way intersection. So I know this study is accurate. People are reckless on our roads. A good rule of thumb is to wait, even after your red light turns green, and make sure nobody is running the red light from the intersecting street.
And to keep your family extra safe, slow down when approaching an intersection even if it’s been green for awhile. Just to make sure it’s clear. It’s too big a risk in Nevada to ignore.
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