Drivers beware: Some of the most dangerous places in Dallas are in our neighborhood.
The Greater Dallas Injury Prevention Center Coalition recently identified Dallas streets and intersections with the most automobile-related injuries.
Topping the list: Plano Road and LBJ Freeway, where at least 12 injury crashes occurred from 1992-1995, making it the City’s most dangerous intersection. One of those crashes resulted in a fatality at the site, the figures show.
The study listed eight other dangerous streets and intersections in Lake Highlands, including:
- 8900 Skillman at Whitehurst
- 6100 Skillman at Eastridge
- 6700 Shady Brook at Blackwell
- 9600 Central Expressway at Walnut Hill
- 9700 East Northwest Highway at North Buckner
- 12100 East Northwest Highway at Garland Road, and
- 12000 East Northwest Highway at Garland Road.
At least five injury-resulting crashes had to occur at a location in any one year between 1992 and 1995 for the location to qualify as dangerous. Accidents not resulting in injuries were not considered when identifying dangerous streets. The Injury Prevention Center used statistics compiled by the Dallas Police Department’s Traffic Division for the study.
The results of the study show that there were 52 injury crashes at the Lake Highlands sites, with 37 of those occurring at intersections during a three-year period. There were 116 cars involved in the crashes, and 104 people sustained possible injuries. The only fatality was at the intersection of Plano Road and LBJ Freeway.
“Motor vehicle-related injuries are the number one cause of injuries in Dallas,” says Allen Bolton, director of the Injury Prevention Center.
“We want to reduce that, take the trauma off the health care system, try to get the message out that there are things you can do.”
Failure to yield on a turn and disregard of stop and go signals were the chief reasons for crashes at the intersections, according to the study. Following too closely and unsafe lane changes were contributing factors to accidents that occurred outside of intersections.
Speeding, alcohol and driver inattention caused by distraction and fatigue also were named as reasons for crashes.
“If there are going to be people who don’t follow the rules, and there clearly are, we need to take more precautions ourselves,” Bolton says.
“We can take precautions to make sure we’re not the victim of the poor driving of the other guy.”
“You have to buckle up. If everyone buckled up, we could significantly reduce the number of serious injuries.”
The majority of accidents identified by the study occurred on dry pavement during daylight hours in fair weather conditions.
The study did not analyze the effect of construction or the condition of streets when determining causes for accidents, Bolton says. This analysis is the next step, he says.
The Injury Prevention Center is a program of Parkland Memorial Hospital, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, and Baylor and Presbyterian hospitals. The center’s mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of injuries in Dallas.
