An off ramp at Interstate 80 and LaGrange Road is the most crash-prone intersection in the south suburbs, according to data released by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
The westbound off-ramp from I-80 onto LaGrange Road, which leads into Orland Park and Tinley Park, recorded 56 crashes in 2010. That's the second highest crash total in the six-county metro area.
The highest crash figure is 63, recorded at Stony Island Avenue and South Chicago Avenue on Chicago's South Side.
State Police Sgt. Jim Powell told Sun-Times Media in a report today that people stopping to judge LaGrange Road traffic are causing the accidents: “People stop, and there’s two turning lanes with a sign out there that says no turn on red except right lane.”
The other south suburban intersections on IDOT's crash list, ordered by rank, include:
- 3rd, Cicero Avenue and 127th Street in Alsip, 53 accidents
- 10th, Lincoln Highway at Cicero Avenue in Matteson, 46 accidents
- 12th, Bolingbrook Drive at I-55 southbound in Bolingbrook, 45 accidents
- 15th, Weber Road at I-55 southbound in Romeoville, 43 accidents
- 19th, 159th Street and River Oaks Drive at Torrence Avenue in Calumet City, 41 accidents
- 20th, 127th Street at Paulina Street in Calumet Park, 41 accidents
Visit the suntimes.com to see the north suburban intersections.
What other intersections in the south suburbs worry you as being danger spots? Tell us in the comments.
Alan, by sitting at a red light at which a right turn is legal (and assuming you have a clear shot at it in traffic), you should go -especially if there is someone behind you. In the end your reasoning of safety may make the roads less safe by ticking off multiple drivers (like Mike -and me) behind you. Even if nobody is behind you, you would just be mucking up our air more than you would if you just get going. Mike, I hear ya brother, but of course we can't go around tapping cars. So, best not to even think about it.