[Study]The Most Dangerous Intersections in Ohio

Posted in Car Accident on July 23, 2020

Intersection-related motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury and death in Ohio.  In fact, from 2014-2019, nearly half of all collisions that resulted in injury or death occurred at an intersection.

Where are the most dangerous intersections in Ohio? Our Ohio personal injury lawyers at Elk & Elk Co., Ltd collaborated with data visualization agency 1Point21 Interactive to find out.

We analyzed six years of collision data from the Ohio Department of Transportation, isolating only crashes where an injury or fatality was reported.  The result is a comprehensive analysis of 438,553 total crashes that occurred from 2014-2019, leading to 49,819 serious injuries, 249,570 minor or moderate injuries, and 6,453 fatalities.

We then calculated a danger index, a score that weighs the volume of crashes, injury severity and fatalities that occurred at each intersection. Then, we ranked each intersection by the danger index score.

(This analysis also included over 325,000 possible injuries.  We decided not to use these in our danger index formula since the severity and veracity of each injury is unknown)

[Interactive Map]

This interactive map shows all intersections in Ohio with a Danger Index score of 40 or above.  This map is interactive – use your mouse to click and drag and mouse wheel or gesture to zoom in and out.  Hover over each point on the map to reveal detailed information for that intersection.  If viewing study on a mobile device, rotate your device for the best viewing experience.

The 50 Most Dangerous Intersections in Ohio

The following are the top 50 most dangerous intersections in Ohio. Altogether, these 50 intersections accounted for 2,201 total crashes, leading to 1,775 total injuries (both serious and minor) and 13 fatalities.

Rank	Intersection	City	Crashes	Minor Injury	Serious Injury	Fatality	Danger Index
1	Cleveland Av & Morse Rd	Columbus	71	52	3	2	188.64
2	OH 28 & Romar Dr	Miami TWP	53	39	17	0	183.6
3	Hamilton Rd & Livingston Ave	Columbus	66	49	6	0	174.96
4	Airport Hw & Byrne Rd	Toledo	78	36	9	0	166.32
5	Karl Rd & Morse Rd	Columbus	56	55	2	0	166.32
6	Hilliard Rome Rd & Renner Rd	Columbus	51	42	7	1	159.84
7	Cleveland Av & Dublin Granville Rd	Columbus	66	45	3	0	155.52
8	James H Mcgee Bl & 3Rd St	Dayton	50	32	13	0	151.92
9	Roberts Rd & Hilliard Rome Rd	Columbus	46	38	9	0	147.6
10	Main St & Mcnaughten Rd	Columbus	65	43	2	0	146.88
11	Philadelphia Dr & Salem Ave	Dayton	45	46	4	0	146.16
12	Broad St & Reynoldsburg New Albany Rd	Columbus	51	35	8	0	141.12
13	Cleveland East Liverpool Rd & Cleveland Canton Rd	Streetsboro	45	34	9	0	138.24
14	Byrne Rd & Hill Ave	Toledo	46	28	7	2	133.2
15	OH-601 And US-20	Townsend Township	20	25	13	2	129.6
16	Cleveland Av & Hudson St	Columbus	45	38	3	0	125.28
17	Sylvania Av & Whiteford Rd	Sylvania Township	53	30	6	0	124.56
18	Orange Av & 30Th St	Cleveland	89	28	0	0	124.56
19	Turner Rd & Main Street	Harrison Township	57	24	6	1	121.68
20	Dublin Granville Rd & Maple Canyon Ave	Columbus	49	35	3	0	121.68
21	Morse Rd & Westerville Rd	Columbus	48	26	7	0	115.92
22	Georgesville Rd & Clime Rd	Columbus	36	26	9	0	114.48
23	James Rd & Broad St	Columbus	54	30	3	0	114.48
24	Morse Rd & Sunbury Rd	Columbus	42	33	1	0	105.12
25	Sullivant Av & Binns Blvd	Columbus	30	30	5	0	104.4
26	Byrne Rd & Arlington Ave	Toledo	48	22	6	0	103.68
27	Walnut ST & Tarlton Rd	Circleville Township	18	23	9	1	102.24
28	Grand Av & Breiel Blvd	Middletown	42	30	2	0	102.24
29	Germantown St & Broadway St	Dayton	35	30	1	1	100.8
30	Airport Hw & Reynolds Rd	Toledo	55	20	5	0	100.8
31	Jackson Pike & Frank-Refugee Exp	Columbus	30	30	4	0	100.8
32	Dublin Granville Rd & Busch Blvd	Columbus	28	25	7	0	99.36
33	Gettysburg Av & James H Mcgee Blvd	Dayton	43	26	3	0	97.92
34	Cleveland Av & Oakland Park Ave	Columbus	38	31	1	0	97.92
35	Morse Rd & Tamarack Blvd	Columbus	36	26	2	1	96.48
36	Roosevelt Bl & Breiel Blvd	Middletown	40	28	2	0	96.48
37	Holland Sylvania Rd	Toledo	52	24	2	0	96.48
38	Oh-603 & Us-20	Mifflin Township	24	23	8	0	95.76
39	Liberty Wa & Cox Rd	West Chester Township	24	19	8	1	94.32
40	Woodman Dr & Burkhardt Rd	Riverside	39	24	4	0	94.32
41	Karl Rd & Dublin Granville Rd	Columbus	45	25	2	0	93.6
42	Columbus Sandusky Rd & Marion Cardington Rd	Claridon Township	18	16	12	0	90.72
43	Colonel Glenn Hw & Grange Hall Rd	Beavercreek	33	21	6	0	90.72
44	Feder Rd & Hilliard Rome Rd	Columbus	35	27	2	0	90.72
45	James H Mcgee Bl & Philadelphia Dr	Dayton	32	21	4	1	90
46	Refugee Rd & Courtright Rd	Columbus	33	19	7	0	90
47	Main St & Progress Dr	Xenia	22	26	5	0	90
48	Powell Rd & Columbus Pike	Orange Township	40	25	2	0	90
49	Broad St & Mcnaughten Rd	Columbus	48	24	1	0	90
50	Stelzer Rd & Mccutcheon Rd	Columbus	31	31	0	0	89.28

As part of this study, we also broke down the 25 most dangerous intersections in each of the six largest cities in Ohio.

These cities are:

Columbus  –  Cleveland  –  Cinncinati  – Dayton  –  Toledo  –  Akron

The Most Dangerous Intersection in Ohio is in Columbus

According to our analysis, the most dangerous intersection in Ohio is in Columbus, at Cleveland Avenue & Morse Road. Columbus, in general, dominates our list of dangerous intersections – 24 of the top 50 are located in Ohio’s most populous state.

This intersection, in particular, was home to 71 total crashes, leading to 52 minor injuries, 3 serious injuries, and 2 fatalities. At the southeast corner of the Forest Park East neighborhood, this intersection joins two of the busiest major arterial roads in northeast Columbus. Arterial roads are those with wide lanes, high traffic, and speed limits that are more suited for highways than city streets – all major contributors to decreased road safety.

Morse Road is a major east-west connector road, with 6 lanes of traffic and major businesses and shopping centers along its route. The constant stop-and-go of traffic, combined with vehicles entering and exiting these shopping centers, can be a major contributor to the high incidence of crashes here.

Additionally, it is important to note that this intersection has an intricate layout when traveling westbound on Morse, with lanes widening and then shrinking to fit whatever lanes necessary to turn onto Cleveland Avenue. Three lanes widen suddenly to 6 for turning lanes, only to shrink immediately back to three lanes after passing Cleveland. This, combined with a huge intersection area, may disorient newer drivers – as well as those who may be driving while distracted.

Other safety measures should be considered at this intersection. Perhaps even more distinct lane signage and marking may contribute significantly to reducing collisions at this intersection.

Other Notable Intersections

#2: OH 28 & Romar Dr. – Miami Township, OH (53 total crashes, 39 minor injuries, 17 serious injuries, 0 fatalities)

East of Cincinnati, the intersection of OH-28 and Romar Drive in Miami Township ranked second in our analysis primarily due to the concerningly high number of serious injuries that have resulted at this intersection. Of the 50 intersections in our study, this had the highest number of serious injuries by far, with the next highest being 13.

This is an especially alarming statistic, considering the circumstances: Miami Township is fairly small, even by Ohio city standards, with a population of roughly 41,000 residents. By comparison, Columbus has nearly 20 times the population.

The high incidence of collisions leading to serious injuries here may be due to a number of factors:

• This is an intersection of a major state roadway and the business route of that roadway. Business routes typically get much higher traffic in the form of large trucks and load-carrying vehicles, which are inherently more dangerous in accidents than standard automobiles.
• There are multiple shopping centers at this corner, including a mall and a major home improvement store.
• This intersection is located right off a major highway, Interstate 275. Roads that are exit outputs for high-traffic freeways typically have a higher incidence of car accidents due to the speeds at which people exit highways and the number of drivers that surge onto the major road.

Further, as mentioned previously, this is another example of a major arterial road with potentially confusing road flow and large intersections – a recipe for dangerous car accidents in those not paying full attention to the road.

UPDATE:  It appears that safety improvements may be on the way for this intersection and the roads around it.  June 30th, 2020, ODOT closed a virtual public meeting about the project.  No results were available at the time of this study.

#5: Airport Hwy & Byrne Rd – Toledo, OH (78 total crashes, 36 minor injuries, 9 serious injuries, 0 fatalities)

Ranked fifth, this intersection in Toledo was home to 78 total crashes, leading to 36 minor injuries and 9 serious injuries. Despite being an intersection in the fourth-most populous city in Ohio, this particular location had an incredibly high number of total crashes – more collisions than the most dangerous intersection on our list. Second, only to a Cleveland intersection ranked 18^th.

At first glance, there is not much that may explain the high incidence of crashes: although Airport Hwy is a state roadway, it is fairly narrow, with two lanes on each side – and a manageable 40mph speed limit. Additionally, this is a quiet, predominantly residential area of Toledo, so there is not much high traffic.

However, this high incidence might be due to its close vicinity to The University of Toledo Medical Center, connected to this intersection by Byrne Road. This may contribute not only to the high volume of traffic, along with drivers who are traveling with urgency to the hospital for immediate medical care. Speeding and not paying full attention can be especially dangerous in residential areas with narrow lanes, where speeds can suddenly pick up and slow down erratically.

Interestingly, the intersection two blocks north of this one, on Byrne Road and Hill Avenue, is also on our list, ranked 14^th. This may indicate that Byrne Road, in general, may have a high amount of traffic, contributing to a higher incidence of collisions.

#15: OH-601 & US-20 – Townsend Township, OH (20 total crashes, 25 minor injuries, 13 serious injuries, 2 fatalities)

This intersection in Townsend Township may be ranked 15^th, but it is arguably a more concerning intersection than some that ranked higher. This is one of the few intersections in our analysis where the total number of injuries is significantly higher than the total number of crashes. When the total injuries and fatalities are tallied, it is double that of the total crashes – indicating that each single crash results in roughly 2 injuries.

This is all the more concerning when population is taken into consideration: Townsend Township is a rural community with just over 1,500 residents. By comparison, the 8^th ranked intersection in Dayton has the same number of serious injuries – despite having a population that is 100 times larger than that of Townsend Township.

Two factors may explain this intersection: the rural setting and the lack of signals. Rural settings invite drivers to bend the rules of driving a bit more, taking fewer safety precautions as there are fewer people around. This can include speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, not using proper turn signals, etc. Compounding with the fact that both US-20 and OH-601 are single-lane roads in each direction, this can be a recipe for disaster.

Additionally, this intersection is not governed by signal lights but rather a two-way stop sign at OH-601. Any attempts to turn from OH-601 to US-20 can be hazardous – especially if vehicles are speeding along and not prepared for vehicles to turn into the highway.

Drivers are always advised to practice safe driving – even in rural communities where there are few cars on the road.

 #18: Orange Avenue & 30^th Street – Cleveland, OH (89 total crashes, 28 minor injuries, 0 serious injuries, 0 fatalities)

Although the only intersection located in Cleveland on this list is ranked 18^th, it also happens to have the most total collisions of any other intersection in our analysis. Looking at its location, it is clear why: the intersection is an entire mishmash of roads connecting, redirecting, and diverting highway traffic to other roads, highways, and interstates. It is reasonable to assume that a significant amount of traffic passes through this intersection as drivers make transitions from one highway to another – a task that can be incredibly difficult under high traffic situations.

This may serve to explain the high incidence of crashes but zero serious injuries: many of the collisions here may occur in low-speed, high-traffic situations, amounting to fender-benders where bumps and scrapes are the result.

Unfortunately, short of a major rehauling of the highway junction system here, there do not seem to be any easy changes to improve safety.

Distracted Driving is Likely a Huge Factor – But That May Change

When considering the possible causes for these high incidences of accidents, Ohio authorities believe that distracted driving is the primary contributing factor to serious car accidents in the state. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, over 91,000 car accidents since 2013 have occurred due to distracted driving – leading to over 47,000 injuries and 305 fatalities.

Part of the reason distracted driving has been such a large factor in car accidents in Ohio is that the state has categorized it as a secondary offense. Law enforcement cannot pull over vehicles due to secondary offenses; these can only be charged if you are pulled over for a separate infraction. This means drivers who may have engaged in distracted driving have not been caught because they otherwise practice “safe” driving.

Fortunately, in February 2020, the state introduced the Hands-Free Ohio Bill, which aims to make distracted driving a primary offense. Although the bill is still currently under legislation, it can hopefully curb the influx of serious car accidents and reduce the total number of distracted drivers on the road.

It remains to be seen whether further improvements can be made to ensure the safety of drivers in Ohio, but studies like these will hopefully inform enough people to empower change and improvement in driver safety across the board.

For more information on the methodology, data sources or takeaways of the study, please contact our Ohio car accident lawyers today.