Crime & Safety
East Maple Tops List of Birmingham's Accident-Prone Intersections, Roads
According to a report from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, East Maple Road at Coolidge was the most dangerous intersection in Birmingham between 2007-11.
Driving can be dangerous, including in Birmingham.
According to recently-released date from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), the number of accidents has increased slightly in Birmingham since 2007 and the majority of them occur at 10 high-accidents intersections around town.
Most accidents happen at intersections or involve young, old drivers
Analyzing data from 2007-11, SEMCOG statistics show there were 766 total crashes within Birmingham city limits in 2011, up from 700 in 2010 and 652 in 2009.
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The good news? The majority of those crashes — 83.8 percent between 2007-11 —involved only property damage. Only 0.1 percent were fatal and 0.8 percent involved an incapacitating injury.
What did those crashes involve? According to SEMCOG, the greatest majority of crashes from 2007-11 happened at intersections — 42.4 percent, in fact.
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After that, crashes involving young drivers (age 16-24) made up 31.4 percent of accidents while crashes involving older drivers (age 65 or older) made up 28.9 percent of Birmingham's accidents.
Most accidents clustered around Maple Road
But if intersections are the problem, where are the majority of crashes occuring? According to SEMCOG, most are occuring on Maple Road, with three of that road's intersections ranked high on a list of the most accident-prone intersections in Birmingham and in Oakland County.
According to SEMCOG, there are an average of 21 accidents per year at East Maple and Coolidge, and 17.8 accidents per year at East Maple and North Old Woodward. At the intersection of East Maple and Woodward, there are 15.8 accidents per year for westbound traffic and 12.8 accidents for eastbound traffic.
In fact, the intersection at East Maple Road and Coolidge — which runs up against Birmingham's border with Troy — was ranked the 98th most dangerous intersection in Oakland County, the only intersection to break the top 100 in Birmingham.
In addition, East Maple Road between Adams and Coolidge, and between Woodward and Adams, were ranked No. 3 and No. 8 respectively on the list of the road segments with the most accidents per year.
Also high on the list: the stretch of West Maple Road between Cranbrook to Southfield. According to SEMCOG, there are an average of 49 accidents per year on that stretch of road.
High-frequency crash intersections
Rank Intersection Annual Average Number of Accidents2007-11 1 East Maple Road @ Coolidge 21 2 East Maple Road @ North Old Woodward 17.8 3 East Maple Road @ Woodward (westbound) 15.8 4 Adams Road @ East Maple 14 5 East 14 Mile Road @ Woodward 14 6 East Maple Road @ Woodward (eastbound) 12.8 7 Woodward Avenue @ Lincoln 11.8 8 West 14 Mile Road @ Saxon 11.2 9 Quarton Road @ Woodward 11 10 West 14 Mile Road @ Woodward 10
High-frequency crash segments
Rank Road From Road - To Road Annual Average Number of Accidents2007-11 1 West Maple Road
South Cranbrook - Southfield 49 2 Quarton Road Lahser - Woodward 45.8 3 East Maple Road Adams - Coolidge 30.4 4 Adams Road East Lincoln - East Maple 29.6 5 Coolidge Road East Maple - Big Beaver 28.6 6 Woodward Avenue Adams turnaround - 14 Mile 25.6 7 14 Mile Road Coolidge - Woodward 24.2 8 East Maple Road Woodward - Adams 23.4 9 Big Beaver Road North Old Woodward - Kensington 22 10 Woodward Avenue Adams - 14 Mile 21
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