Laredo has over a quarter of a million residents. And with all those residents, traffic accidents are inevitable. In 2021, the city had nearly 6,000 crashes involving cars, trucks, pedestrians, and bicycles. These car accidents tend to cluster on a few hazardous roads and intersections.
Traffic accident hot spots may be due to poor road design, like sharp curves, and weather-related road hazards, like standing water after rain. But the most common cause of these clusters is driver behavior. As a result, crashes often happen where drivers speed, run red lights, and enter intersections without yielding.
If you’ve been hurt by a negligent driver in Laredo, TX, Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers can help you pursue compensation for your injuries. Contact our law office at (956) 529-7336 to schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced Laredo car accident attorney.
How Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in Laredo, TX
Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers is a personal injury law firm with over 24 years of experience representing accident victims in Laredo, Texas. Since the firm’s founding in 2010, our Laredo car accident lawyer has recovered over $30 million in compensation for our clients.
We can help after an accident by providing:
- A free evaluation to assess your case and advise you of your legal options
- Over 24 years of legal experience handling all types of personal injury cases
- Small firm attention to your case with big firm resources to take on big insurers
Serious injuries after a car accident can permanently disable and disfigure you. Contact Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation, where we will discuss your car accident and the financial compensation you might seek for your injuries.
Why Do Crashes Cluster?
Crashes happen for many reasons. But according to a landmark study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), environmental factors, like dangerous roads and weather conditions, caused only about 2% of traffic crashes. Instead, driver behavior was the cause of an overwhelming majority of collisions, at 94%.
If this is true, why do crashes cluster? According to another study, crash hot spots form where drivers tend to engage in risky behaviors like:
- Running red lights and stop signs
- Failing to yield at intersections, merges, and turns
- Speeding
- Driving through occupied crosswalks
- Pulling into traffic without looking
By analyzing traffic crash patterns and accident hot spots, city planners and police agencies can look for ways to address common problems that arise at specific locations.
Locations of Traffic Accidents in Laredo, Texas
According to statistics, Laredo had 5,994 traffic accidents in 2022.
These crashes caused:
- 20 fatalities
- 2,255 nonfatal injuries
According to a query on Texas’s Crash Records Information System (CRIS), these are the most dangerous roads/intersections in Laredo, TX:
Dangerous Roads in Laredo, TX
Accidents on highways and roadways between intersections often involve rear-end or sideswipe collisions.
They happen due to:
- Distracted driving
- Tailgating
- Speeding
- Drunk driving
- Brake-checking
- Changing lanes unsafely
These crashes can cause neck and back injuries like whiplash, but they are less likely to cause fatal injuries. That’s because the vehicles are usually traveling in the same direction, which reduces the crash energy.
According to CRIS, the most dangerous roads in Laredo include:
- US-83
- TX-1472/Mines Road
- TX-20 Loop
- Saunders Street between I-35 and TX-20 Loop
- San Bernardo Avenue
- Del Mar Boulevard
- McPherson Road
These roads are some of the most congested and heavily traveled roads in Laredo. Heavy traffic can magnify dangerous driver behaviors because of the proximity of the cars.
Dangerous Intersections in Laredo, TX
Intersection crashes almost always happen when a driver fails to yield the right of way.
This can play out in a few ways:
- Proceeding through a stop sign out of turn
- Running a yield sign, stop sign, or traffic light
- Turning before the intersection clears
- Entering a crosswalk occupied by pedestrians or cyclists
Intersection crashes are particularly dangerous because of the risk of hitting another vehicle on its door. This impact can cause the passenger compartment to collapse and crush the vehicle’s occupants.
Pedestrian accidents are also more likely to happen at intersections. Since pedestrians have no protection in a collision, these accidents can cause serious injuries like broken bones, concussions, and road rash.
The most dangerous intersections in Laredo include:
- Santa Ursula Avenue and Houston Street
- San Dario Avenue and Houston Street
- Cedar Avenue and US-83/Guadalupe Street
- McPherson Street and US-83/Guadalupe Street
- US-59/Saunders Street and San Dario Avenue
- Santa Ursula Avenue and Chicago Street
These crashes cluster at busy intersections. They also tend to happen at the intersections of high-speed roads and highways. Finally, intersection crashes sometimes happen due to poor or confusing traffic control signals and signs.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Our Laredo Car Accident Lawyer
Regardless of where they happen, car accident injuries can require expensive medical treatment and may even prevent you from working. To discuss your crash and the rights you have to personal injury compensation under Texas law, contact Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation.