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Study: The Most Dangerous Intersections in Fayette County, KY

May 11, 2021

Broadway & New Circle Intersection
In the United States, nearly a quarter of all traffic fatalities and roughly half of all traffic injuries occur at intersections.  Known as ‘planned points of conflict’, intersections are a perennial focus among local, state and federal organizations to improve and maintain road safety.

With this in mind, how safe are our intersections in Lexington?  Where are motorists more likely to be injured in a traffic collision?

With the help of 1Point21 Interactive, we examined three years of collision data from the Kentucky State Police to identify the most dangerous intersections in Lexington (and all of Fayette County). Of course, you can always speak to a skilled accident lawyer in Lexington to learn more.

Intersection-Related Collisions Overview

From 2017 through 2019 (the latest full year available), there were 6,890 crashes that resulted in an injury or death in Fayette County, second only to Jefferson County with 15,623.   Nearly 35 percent of these crashes (2,374) were intersection-related – accounting for 3,518 injuries and 23 deaths. 

Through this lens, it appears that, overall, intersections in Louisville and Fayette County are relatively safe when compared to the U.S. as a whole (the U.S. DOT estimates that half of all injury crashes occur at intersections).

[Interactive Map] Crashes at Fayette County Intersections

The map below shows all intersections in Fayette County where at least one collision occurred.   The larger the circle size, the more dangerous that intersection is, as circle size is determined by that crossing’s CRS score. This map is interactive, zoom in and hover over each intersection to reveal more information.

If viewing on a mobile device, rotate for best experience. 

The 50 Most Dangerous Intersections

Which intersection is most dangerous? We created a CRS index that weights collision and injury volume to rank each crossing where at least one injury or fatal collision occurred.  Below are the 50 most dangerous intersections in Lexington and Fayette County.

Rank Road 1 Road 2 Crashes Injuries Fatalities CRS
1 Broadway New Circle Rd 18 31 0 192
2 Man O War Blvd Nicholasville Rd 15 30 0 183.5
3 Clearwater / Belleau Wood Dr Man O War Blvd 14 28 0 170.5
4 Man O War Blvd Tates Creek Rd 14 28 0 168.5
5 Broadway Red Mile Rd / Virginia Ave 16 25 0 158
6 Ash St / Loudon Ave Newtown Pike 9 27 0 154
7 Athens Boonesboro Rd Hays Blvd 10 24 1 153.5
8 Citation Blvd Georgetown Rd 13 25 0 152
9 Broadway Loudon Ave 18 21 0 142
10 Moore Dr Nicholasville Rd 14 20 1 141.5
11 Limestone Virginia Ave / Huguelet Dr 14 21 0 134.5
12 Broadway / Harrodsburg Mason Headly / Waller Ave 14 21 0 134
13 Tates Creek Rd Wilson Downing Rd / Appian Way 11 22 0 133.5
14 Eastland Dr New Circle Rd 12 21 0 129
15 Bryan Station Rd / Bryan Ave New Circle Rd 9 21 0 126.5
16 Lowry Ln Nicholasville Rd 11 19 0 121
17 Ft Harrods Dr Harrodsburg Rd 12 16 1 116.5
18 Blazer  Rio Dosa Dr Man O War Blvd 12 18 0 114
19 New Circle Rd Russell Cave Rd 12 13 2 114
20 Athens Boonesboro Rd Richmond Rd 9 18 0 108.5
21 Coleman Ct Newtown Pike 10 17 0 105
22 4Th St / Georgetown St. Newtown Pike 9 16 0 100
T23 Broadway Twelfth St 9 16 0 98.5
T23 Broadway I75 S Exit113 On-Ramp From Us27 9 16 0 98.5
25 Man O War Blvd Palumbo Dr 11 15 0 98.5
26 3Rd St Upper St 8 16 0 97.5
27 Mason Headley Rd Versailles Rd 9 16 0 97.5
28 Clays Mill Rd Longview Dr 8 16 0 95.5
29 Harrodsburg Rd Old Higbee Mill / Old Harrodsburg Rd 10 15 0 95
30 Broadway / Angliana Foreman Ave 12 14 0 93.5
31 Locust Hill Dr Richmond Rd 11 14 0 93.5
32 Eagle Creek Dr Richmond Rd 9 15 0 93
33 Armstrong Mill Rd Man O War Blvd 8 15 0 92
34 Liberty Rd Star Shoot Pkwy 8 15 0 91.5
35 Radcliffe Rd Russell Cave Rd 8 15 0 91
36 Man O War Blvd Pleasant Ridge Dr 9 14 0 88.5
37 Citation Blvd Greendale 6 15 0 87.5
38 Harrodsburg Rd Wellington 8 14 0 87
39 Lansdowne Dr Tates Creek Rd 7 12 1 86
40 Versailles Rd Village Dr 10 13 0 84.5
41 Leestown Rd Yarnallton Pike 8 13 0 82
42 Greendale Rd Leestown Rd 6 11 1 80
43 Bob O Link Harrodsburg Rd 7 13 0 79
44 Harrodsburg Rd Lane Allen Rd 9 12 0 79
45 Mt Tabor Rd Richmond Rd 9 12 0 78.5
46 Broadway Vine St 9 12 0 78
47 Leestown Rd Trade St 8 12 0 77
48 Ky4 Exit7 Ramp From Us421 Leestown Rd 8 12 0 76.5
48 Liberty Rd New Circle Rd 8 12 0 76.5
50 Limestone Loudon Ave 8 12 0 76

*In the event that a CRS score was the same for two or more intersections, ties were broken by fatality/injury/crash volume – in that order. 

All of the five most dangerous intersections – and six of the top ten – involved either Broadway or Man O War Blvd.  These two streets were fixtures in the top 50: Broadway with eight crossings and Man O War with seven.

The Anatomy of Lexington Intersection Collisions

When compared with all collisions where Rear-end crashes are most common, those that occur at intersections are much more likely to involve angle and opposing left-turn collisions.   In fact, those are the two most common types of intersection crashes in Lexington.

  • Angle Collisions: 1,136
  • Opposing Left-turn: 408
  • Rear-end: 370
  • Single Vehicle: 311
  • Sideswipe: 92

Intersection collisions occur most often in October, May, and November

  • January: 176
  • February: 167
  • March: 175
  • April: 187
  • May: 231
  • June: 181
  • July: 203
  • August: 283
  • September: 233
  • October: 257
  • November: 216
  • December: 172

Why This Matters

As personal injury attorneys in Lexington, we are passionate advocates for public safety.  We believe that empowering people with information can go a long way in that regard.  If people are aware of where collisions are more frequent, they may adjust their routes and driving behaviors around that knowledge.  If our report can help even one person avoid a serious collision or injury, it will all be worth it.

When evaluating the data, it is important to understand that there are many factors that may lead to collisions including traffic volume, driver behavior, visibility and effectiveness of traffic control devices, road conditions, weather, and lighting to name a few.    Drivers can increase their odds of arriving at their destination safely by:

  1. Refraining from distracted driving, including the use of cell phones, eating, or anything else that takes your attention from the road.
  2. Obey all traffic laws and traffic signals.
  3. Perform regular maintenance on your vehicle.  Worn tires or breaks can make it much more difficult to respond to sudden breaking in front of you, for example.
  4. Drive defensively when possible.  You can’t depend on other drivers to drive safely.  Being aware of potential hazards or erratic behavior from other drivers is crucial.
  5. Do not drink and drive.

Sources and Fair Use

This study uses injury and fatal crash data from the Kentucky State Police for the years 2017 – 2019.  Our rankings are based on collision and injury volume at a given intersection.   If you would like to report on or republish the data, maps, or information within, please link back to this page to provide credit to our firm.