Where are the Most Dangerous Intersections in America?

Drivers asked to submit their dangerous intersections as millions travel for Memorial Day weekend

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) is calling on drivers to submit dangerous intersections as part of a national movement to make intersections safer.

The National Safety Council estimates that over the Memorial Day weekend there will be more than 400 traffic fatalities and another 39,400 injuries resulting from motor vehicle collisions. With millions of motorists hitting the roads this weekend, NCSR, a national road safety organization, has launched a new online system to give motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists a resource to submit the most dangerous intersections they come across. The online form allows motorists to quickly submit an intersection they've driven through. After the information is collected, NCSR will launch an interactive map allowing drivers to see where problem intersections in their area are.

"Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of the summer travel season and drivers need to take extra caution as they head out on the roads this summer," said David Kelly, president and executive director of NCSR. "As millions of families travel on road trips to enjoy their summer vacations, they are at an increased risk to fall victim to someone else's reckless decisions on the road. We are making it easy for motorists to submit the dangerous intersections they drive through so we can make these intersections safer."

According to the National Safety Council, for the past six years, the Memorial Day holiday weekend has averaged 12.2 percent more traffic fatalities than similar non-holiday periods. This is likely due in part to increased travel – leaving motorists at an increased risk for accidents caused by red-light runners. Red-light runners cause hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries each year. A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that in 2009, 676 people were killed and 113,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. Two-thirds of the victims in these crashes were pedestrians, bicyclists and occupants of vehicles hit by the red light runners.

"Someone's desire to arrive somewhere a few seconds early by running a red light isn't more important than a family's right to arrive somewhere safely," said Kelly. "We need the help of those out there on the roads every day to identify the problem intersections they encounter so we can work to help improve the safety at these dangerous intersections. Through the use of advances in technology – like red light safety cameras – we can drastically reduce the number of fatalities and catastrophic injuries associated with red-light running."

The IIHS study also showed that red light safety cameras helped save more than 150 lives in 14 of the biggest U.S. cities from 2004 to 2008. Had the cameras been operating in all 99 U.S. cities with populations more than 200,000, more than 800 lives could have been saved.

NCSR will use the information collected on the dangerous intersections collected across the U.S. to share with local legislators and law enforcement to help improve safety at the intersections.

NCSR is a nonprofit advocacy organization that brings together industry leaders, community leaders and concerned citizens in support of red-light safety camera technology. NCSR helps save lives and protect communities by demonstrating how red-light safety cameras can improve driver behavior. For more information, visit http://SafeRoadsSaveLives.org/.

SOURCE National Coalition for Safer Roads