TV6 Investigates: Most accident prone intersections in the Quad Cities

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that around half of all car crashes in the nation occur at an intersection. The same statistics can be found here in the Quad Cities.

There were over 3,400 car crashes in Davenport and Bettendorf in 2021. 1400 of them happened at an intersection.

Over 1,700 crashes occurred in Moline and Rock Island in 2020, the latest year available for Illinois data, 813 of which happened at an intersection.

Accidents happen and there will be times that a car crash is unavoidable, but knowing the places where they happen the most can help us to be more vigilant.

Topping the list as the most accident-prone intersection in the Quad Cities is John Deere Road and 41st Street in Moline. From 2018 to 2020, the intersection had 38 crashes.

Moline by far surpasses any other metropolitan city in the area with its rate of crashes at intersections in the city, with its busy two-way highways that cross heavily trafficked streets like 19th and 41st.

Davenport also has heavily trafficked main streets such as Brady, which is at the intersection of 65th and Veterans Parkway there have been 15 crashes since 2018. This ties with the same amount of crashes as East Kimberly Road and Welcome Way.

Welcome Way makes the list of top intersections twice, where at the intersection of 53rd street there have been 13 crashes since 2018.

Bettendorf has had the least amount of intersection crashes by city.

Middle Road, however, is still one to drive cautiously on. The road is part of four out of five of the city’s most crash-prone intersections, topping at Middle Road and the I-74 off-ramp, which has seen 10 crashes since 2018.

Over in Rock Island, 2nd Avenue and 15th Street, right at the entrance of the city, is where the most crashes have occurred, at 14 since 2018.

Following closely behind is 46th Avenue and 30th Street, with 13 crashes.

The National Highway of Traffic Safety’s findings state that almost all intersection crashes are preventable, with the most likely causes of crashing being speeding, distraction and failure to follow traffic signs and signals.

Officials say the number one way to prevent an accident from happening is defensive driving.

Their list, compiled from National Data of Traffic Crashes and Causes, involves looking ahead and anticipating hazards, hesitating and looking both ways, covering the brake, doing a one-second hold before going, and setting up correctly for turns.

444 intersection-related crashes in Davenport and Bettendorf were caused by speeding while 230 in Moline and Rock Island had the same determination, according to the data.

Failing to yield or follow traffic signals were the second most l

If you would like to remain safe on the road, follow the tips of National Highway and Safety, and drive defensively and pay attention.

Copyright 2022 KWQC. All rights reserved.