According to the NC Department of Transportation, the city of Greenville continues to be one of the worst, when compared to cities similar in size, in North Carolina for motor vehicle crashes. From 2015 to 2017, the Department of Transportation’s reports showed that Greenville had the top number of crashes during a three-year period, 14,694, within its city limits compared to cities statewide with a population of more than 10,000. And, of those accidents, 29 resulted in a fatality while 3,634 caused injuries.
Greenville’s Most Dangerous Roads
The report from the DOT also showed the top intersections for accidents in Greenville. According to the 2017 statistics, these roads and their multiple intersections ranked among the top 10 most dangerous in the city:
- Greenville Boulevard
- Fire Tower Road
- Evans Street
- Arlington Boulevard
The top most dangerous intersection in Greenville is at Greenville Boulevard and Evans Street according to the DOT.
Official Responses
Agencies such as public works, health care facilities, law enforcement, and the DOT formed a task force to expedite and identify safety measures that may prove to be effective in reducing motor vehicle crashes. The goals of the task force includes:
Eliciting feedback from the public
The task force would like information from the public about its efforts, and they have gained a significant response through social media channels.
Educating the public
The task force wants to provide information to drivers about practicing safety such as using passenger restraints and refraining from fatigued and distracted driving.
Solutions through Engineering
By reconfiguration dangerous intersections traffic flow could be improved and that could decrease the likelihood of crashes. Limiting left turns through the use of traffic delineators at formerly dangerous intersections such as Arlington Boulevard and Smythewyck Drive have all but eliminated the car wrecks at those intersections.
Regulation Enforcement
Law enforcement has made enforcing regulations related to stop signs, speeding and seat belt use a top priority in the last couple years. The city installed red light cameras at five of the city’s most difficult intersections in 2017. Since then, those cameras have captured upwards of five violations a day and generated tens of thousands of traffic tickets.