The Michigan State Police Office of Highway Safety Planning identifiesJackson County’s most dangerous intersections. Unfortunately, between 2003 and 2007, the intersection of West and West Michigan Avenues was the county’s most accident prone area; it was home to 139 crashes according to an MLive article.
Provocatively, even though this and a few other intersections in Jackson County see a frequent number of crashes, the accidents are rarely serious. Because 18,200 vehicles flow daily on West Michigan Avenue, across West Avenue, John Holda, Jackson County’s Police Deputy Chief, says that the high volume of traffic causes the accidents.
Next, the intersection of N. West Avenue and West North Street has the second highest number of crashes, at 135. However, just because an intersection has a high number of crashes, does not mean that it needs to be re-engineered. Often, these intersections are engineered correctly, but it is the volume of cars traveling through them which raises the probability of an accident.
This data suggests that in order to avoid an accident, avoid these two intersections all together. Secondly, if you must travel through these intersections, do so with more caution than you otherwise would.