VDOT data: Here are the most dangerous places to drive in Prince George
PRINCE GEORGE - This final part in a series examining traffic accidents across the Tri-Cities focuses on Prince George. The numbers bear out three spots for drivers to watch out for, though overall the county's numbers were somewhat middle of the road.
This study examined Virginia Department of Transportation numbers from 2016 through 2020. High accident clusters were used to find areas of road that were dangerous year over year, while county-wide numbers were examined to show an overall picture of Prince George's traffic accidents.
More: VDOT data: Dinwiddie has the highest number of traffic deaths in the Tri-Cities
More: VDOT data: Most dangerous Hopewell intersections, city sees most crashes resulting in injuries
More: Traffic Stats: What areas of Colonial Heights experience the most car accidents?
More: By the stats: Petersburg's five most dangerous roads and intersections
Prince George had the second highest number of traffic deaths of any locality (25), though it was far behind Dinwiddie (41). Third highest was Petersburg (21). Those deaths happened slightly more often on the non-interstate roads versus the highway. Eleven deaths (44%) happened on the interstates, versus 14 (56%) that happened on county roads.
Prince George landed square in the middle when it came to total accidents (2,339), just behind Dinwiddie (2,352). Petersburg saw the most accidents by far (3,876). Colonial Heights was lowest (1,776). Most of Prince George's accidents happened on county roads.
The county averaged about 40% of accidents which led to injuries. Hopewell led that statistic with a staggering 75% of accidents resulting in injuries.
Driver distraction was the primary reason behind accidents in Prince George, having aided in 527 of the county's crashes. Excessive speed was a reason listed for 412 accidents while alcohol was a factor in 133. VDOT data showed a small difference between the number of accidents involving "teen drivers" aged 15-19 (361) and "mature drivers" aged 65 plus (376).
High accident clusters show that counties don't generally have high-accident areas in the same spot year over year. There were however three areas that stood out as places that traffic accidents were fairly regular over the five-year period. There were no portions of the interstates that showed consistent accident clusters.
County Drive and Fountain Drive in New Bohemia
County Drive is generally a road that experiences a high number of accidents each year. Most of those accidents are somewhat evenly distributed throughout the county, though, it's intersection with Fountain Drive in New Bohemia showed traffic clusters year over year.
This brief stretch of road had 32 accidents during the five year period. About 35% of those accidents resulted in at least one injury - slightly less than the county average of 40%.
Temple Avenue at Puddledock Road
Temple Avenue in the northern part of Prince George is a main thoroughfare for people traveling to and from Colonial Heights, sometimes toward Hopewell or Interstate 295. The area around Temple Avenue's intersection with Puddledock Road was a magnet for traffic accidents compared to anywhere else in the county.
This area had 53 total accidents across the five-year period. About 45% of those accidents resulted in injuries to the drivers.
Oaklawn Boulevard at Sisisky Boulevard
Oaklawn Boulevard is another busy road in the northern section of the county. It serves as the major access road between Prince George, Hopewell, Fort Lee and Petersburg. The area right around the base's Sisisky Gate experienced a large proportion of traffic accidents.
This portion of road had 50 total accidents. It was the most dangerous of the high crash areas with about 54% of crashes resulting in injuries, well above the county's average.
You can reach Sean Jones at sjones@progress-index.com. Follow him at @SeanJones_PI. Follow The Progress-Index on Twitter at @ProgressIndex.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: VDOT data: Prince George County's most dangerous roads
