Most Dangerous Intersections in the Triangle

Are you driving through some of the deadliest highways and intersections in the Triangle and don’t know it? What areas do you need to be driving defensively?

The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, also known as “The Triangle,” continues to experience a population growth. Over the past 10 years, Wake County’s population has grown by 26%. Compared to other counties in the U.S. at the last census, Wake County is only second to Austin, Texas in terms of top fastest growing counties with 1,000,000+ residents. Between 2010 to 2015, Raleigh’s population grew by 14%!

Unfortunately, this rapid growth meant more people are driving on the roads, and more car accidents have occurred as a result. However, car accidents are occurring at a disproportionate rate — about a 45% increase overall, according to WRAL.

For 2020, Raleigh had nearly 13,500 crashes, with more than 5,500 of those resulting in injury. Durham saw fewer crashes than Raleigh in 2020, but that still amounted to more than 7,000 crashes and nearly 3,000 injuries. Meanwhile, Chapel Hill by itself had nearly 700 crashes in 2020. From 2018-2020, Chapel Hill had 3,224 crashes. In short, you always have to be on high alert on the roads in the Triangle.

The Most Dangerous Intersections in Raleigh

Based on numbers from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), there are dozens of intersections where crash rates are higher than those in the area. As you may suspect if you drive them frequently, high-volume roadways like Wake Forest Road are on the list.

According to recent reports from the NCDOT, below are the top 10 intersections in Raleigh where the most accidents occurred between 2015 and 2019:

1. 1. I 40 and I 440 (648 crashes)

   
   

   2. I 440 and US 1 (519 crashes)

   
   

   3. I 440 and SR 2000 (504 crashes)

   
   

   4. I 440 and I 440 WB Couplet (448 crashes)

   
   

   5. I 40 and US 70 (443 crashes)

   
   

   6. I 440 and US 70 (441 crashes)

   
   

   7. I 440 and SR 1005 (371 crashes)

   
   

   8. I 40 and US 1 (351 crashes)

   
   

   9. US 70 and SR 1670 (350 crashes)

   
   

   10. US 1 and US 64 (336 crashes)

The Most Dangerous Intersections in Durham

In Durham, the most crash-prone intersections between 2015 and 2019 were:

1. 1. I 40 and SR 1118 (351 crashes)

   
   

   2. I 40 and NC 55 (342 crashes)

   
   

   3. I 85 and NC 157 (259 crashes)

   
   

   4. I 40 and US 15 (252 crashes)

   
   

   5. I 40 and NC 54 (250 crashes)

   
   

   6. I 85 and US 15 BUS (242 crashes)

   
   

   7. US 70 and NC 98 (235 crashes)

   
   

   8. US 15 and NC 147 (227 crashes)

   
   

   9. I 85 and NC 55 (213 crashes)

   
   

   10. NC 55 and NC 147 (212 crashes)

When traffic engineers identify where crashes are most severe, they are able to provide crash mitigation efforts like adding red light cameras, making stop lights more visible to drivers, and restricting turn lanes to help reduce crash rates. See a map of where NCDOT Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) projects are occurring.

Learn More: Most & Least Dangerous Counties and Cities in N.C. (easy-to-read infographic)

8 Tips on How to Drive Defensively if You Are in a High-Crash Volume Area

If you frequent these intersections and areas in the Triangle, driving defensively is key to ensuring your and others’ safety. Practice the following tips below:

1. 1. FOCUS! That text or call can wait. Minimize being on your phone or fiddling with the air conditioning or the radio especially when you’re at one of these dangerous areas.

   
   

   2. Expect other drivers to drive badly.

   
   

   3. Follow the speed limit.

   
   

   4. Buckle up!

   
   

   5. Yield to other drivers if you are in doubt as to who should go.

   
   

   6. Don’t try to race the yellow light. Slow down.

   
   

   7. Always use your blinkers.

   
   

   8. Do not tailgate other drivers.

North Carolina Triangle Car Crash Lawyers

The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin is ready to help you if you were injured by another driver’s negligence. We may be able to help you get compensation. We’ll evaluate your case for free, and we don’t collect an attorney’s fee unless we get compensation for you. If you’ve been in an auto accident in North Carolina, call us at 1-866-900-7078 or contact us here.

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