slides: Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections in Oregon 2014

Email to a friend Permalink

Sunday, September 07, 2014

By Shelby Sebens, GoLocalPDX Reporter

From clogged highway and freeway interchanges to city and county roads throughout Oregon, danger for drivers lurks at many corners. 

GoLocalPDX analyzed data on high-crash intersections and stretches of road in the state using data provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation to find out what roads posed the most danger to Oregon drivers. 

Slideshow Below: 60 Most Dangerous Intersections in Oregon 

The state data provides the number of crashes, crash rate and severity of crashes in a master list aimed at determining where resources should be allocated. GoLocalPDX crunched the numbers and focused on four areas - total number of accidents, fatalities, injuries, and property damage only. 

GoLocalPDX sifted through data from roads and intersections across the state. These roads accounted for 3,468 crashes, 55 fatalities and 1,841 injuries in 2013. 

The three most dangerous intersections in Oregon are all in Portland: No. 1 is an interchange on U.S. Highway 26. 

“That’s one of the busiest interchanges in the whole state, so it has a lot more traffic volume,” ODOT spokeswoman Sally Ridenour said. The interchange had the highest total number of crashes at 381, well above the second highest of 181, but none were fatal. Of those crashes, 213 resulted in injuries. 

Read more: How We Ranked Dangerous Intersections

Ridenour said the state doesn’t just look at intersections or interchanges when it determines high-risk areas, but instead looks at all areas and works with regional and local governments to prioritize and plan improvements. 

“There’s all sorts of phases of transportation planning and all other different planning and research that goes into every kind of improvement,” she said. “What we do is, in the planning process, we look at safety, we look at crashes, we look at age of the facility and we look at what the community wants.

"It’s a big partnership with communities.” 

Ridenour said the state uses its data to help create the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Oregon’s four-year transportation capital improvement program. The STIP lays out funding and scheduling of transportation projects and programs, according to ODOT. 

“When funding is available, then [those] projects get selected for funding,” she said. 

Engineering, Education, Enforcement

Ridenour said the design of the road, whether people understand the rules of the road, and the enforcement of traffic laws all factor into how safe an intersection might be. 

In 2013, 305 people died in car crashes in Oregon, said James Solomon, director of training for the National Safety Council’s defensive driving courses. 

“It is not a high number, but for a state your size, it’s a good-size number,” Solomon said. 

Solomon said nationally the factor that causes most crashes, 51 percent, is improper driving. That can be anything from speeding to aggressive merging to failing to yield. 

Marie Dodds, AAA Oregon/Idaho director of Government and Public Affairs, said she hears a lot from members concerned about intersections in the state; Division Street and Southeast 88th Street and U.S. 26 and I-405 as well as I-405 and I-5 all ranked high on GoLocalPDX’s list. 

“I think sometimes they are just really concerned about safety,” she said. "Some are concerned about pedestrians. Some say that it’s difficult to see in those intersections.

"Some feel like it’s too many lanes for safe passage in those areas.” 

---

Related Slideshow: 60 Most Dangerous Intersections in Oregon

Related Articles

• Metro Offers Grant to Promote Biking, Walking
• Portland Ranks 11th in US Carfree Cities
• Methodology: Most Dangerous Intersections in Oregon 2014

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink