A recent report by the city of Lubbock Traffic Engineering Department ranked Hub City intersections by crash rate for the year 2014.

The five most dangerous intersections are scattered around the city, with two being along Interstate 27 in East-Central Lubbock, one along Clovis Road in North Lubbock and the other two in West Lubbock along Frankford Avenue and West Loop 289.

Crash rate statistics were taken from the Lubbock Traffic Engineering Department's 2014 Signalized Intersection Study.

Rates were determined by using the latest available intersection traffic volume measured on a typical 24-hour weekday period and the total amount of accidents within the public right of way of 250 feet of the center of an intersection.

The ranking assigns a crash rate of one crash per one million vehicles entering the intersection from all approaches.

The Top 5 are:

1. Eastbound frontage road of Marsha Sharp Freeway and northbound Interstate 27 frontage road, with a crash rate of 5.781

2. 50th Street and the southbound I-27 frontage road, with a crash rate of 4.212

3. 34th Street and the southbound West Loop 289 frontage road, with a crash rate of 4.013

4. Clovis Road and Landmark Lane, with a crash rate of 3.472

5. Frankford Avenue and Fourth Street, with a crash rate of 3.402

It can happen in seconds

In less than two seconds, Leigh Waldman's 2006 Ford Focus came to a screeching halt, decelerating from 45 mph to a complete stop.

Confused and disoriented, Waldman did not know what had happened at first. The sound of her car horn and the smell of smoke filled the air as she realized she was in a car wreck.

"The front of my car was crunched in and I guess it shifted the frame," she said. "I couldn't open either of my doors, so I was kind of trapped in my car."

Waldman was driving through the intersection of Fourth Street and Quaker Avenue when another vehicle ran a red light and crossed her path, causing the crash.

Incidents like this are a common occurrence. In 2014, there were 6,338 auto accidents that led to 28 fatalities in Lubbock, according to Texas Department of Transportation statistics.

A recent report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found about 87 percent of drivers engaged in at least one risky behavior while behind the wheel within the past month.

The report lists distracted driving, speeding, drowsy driving, red-light running, not wearing a seat belt and impaired driving as common unsafe behaviors.

Doug Shupe, AAA Texas senior public affairs specialist, stressed the need for people to be cautious and focused when driving.

"We encourage people to not be in a rush, wherever you go," he said. "If you are heading to class and you're running late, it's better to be late and get there safely."

Shupe said nearly 33,000 Americans died in car crashes in 2014, and preliminary estimates project a 9 percent increase in deaths for 2015.

Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, said in a statement, "There is a culture of indifference for far too many drivers when it comes to road safety."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found auto accidents had an economic and societal cost of $871 billion in the U.S. in 2010.

The severity of vehicle crashes can vary greatly. Waldman's accident left her car totaled and her having to complete three months of physical therapy due to neck injuries.

The lasting effects of her accident were not just physical.

"I actually get kind of scared at intersections now," she said. "Even if my light is green, I still kind of stop and I have to look around and make sure no other cars are coming."

(This article was produced by The Hub@College of Media & Communication, an online student media production at Texas Tech.)

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