Every time a driver makes a trip to the grocery store or commutes to work, they may pass through dozens of intersections. Although intersections are incredibly dangerous, people breeze through them with barely a second thought.
Many of the worst crashes occur at intersections, and many of them are the result of drivers making the wrong choices. Some people conduct rolling stops. They slow down but don’t fully stop the way that the law requires. Others forget to use their turn signals. They risk the possibility of others misinterpreting their intentions and causing a crash.
However, it is a simple and totally lawful choice that creates the highest degree of collision risk at an intersection. One common traffic maneuver can significantly increase the likelihood of a crash occurring.
Turning left is relatively dangerous
Left-hand turns are sometimes necessary to follow the most efficient route to a particular destination. They are legal traffic maneuvers, especially when performed with the use of a turn signal in a marked lane at an intersection. The flow of traffic on the right side of the road means that turning left is more dangerous than turning straight.
Turning left means exposing a vehicle to all oncoming lanes of traffic at the intersection. That and the slowness of the turn are why left-hand turns are the most dangerous maneuver at any intersection. According to crash statistics, roughly 61% of intersection collisions involve a vehicle attempting to turn left.
The risk is so significant that some delivery companies plan their drivers’ routes to help them avoid turning left as much as possible. Urban designers and municipal authorities have begun designing intersections to prevent left turns because of how dangerous they can be. They add roundabouts or redesign intersections to limit left turns as much as possible. The goal is to reduce a maneuver that can correlate to drastically increased collision risk.
Drivers who are aware of what increases their overall car crash risk levels can be more proactive about ensuring their safety. When a crash does happen, the people involved can potentially pursue compensation from the party at fault for the incident. Both insurance claims and lawsuits can help people cover the costs of collisions caused by other motorists.