Wellington Rd. at Commissioners Rd. has been dethroned when it comes to London intersections with the highest number of crashes.
The London Police Service released its annual list of high collision intersections Tuesday. Topping the 2015 list is the intersection of Wellington Rd. and Exeter Rd.
Traffic Sgt. Amanda Pfeffer says the intersection jumped from number 11 in 2014 to number one.
"This is the first time Exeter and Wellington has been at the top of that list and there were 91 collisions in relation to that intersection versus Wellington and Commissioners which is typically at the top of the list with only 82 collisions," says Pfeffer.
Pfeffer says volume has a lot to do with which intersections make it into the top ten.
"Exeter and Wellington experiences a very high volume of traffic being that close to the 401 as well as some major shopping centres," says Pfeffer. "There are thousands upon thousands of cars travelling through everyday. I want to emphasize this does not make the intersection any more dangerous than any other intersection in our city. It's just the nature of this list and unfortunately Exeter at Wellington has made it to the top."
Overall, there were over 10,000 crashes on city streets last year, roughly unchanged from 2014.
Police say the majority were caused by distracted, impaired, and aggressive driving. There was a 15% increase in the number of tickets issued to drivers for using handheld devices. The increase comes despite stiffer penalties for the offence, which were introduced in September 2015.
Pfeffer urges drivers to be the change they want to see on the roads.
"Intersections are one of the places on our roadways, specifically in urban settings, that you have to be incredibly cautious and attentive," says Pfeffer. "We do what we can as police. We get out to those intersections, we conduct enforcement but the responsibility lies with all of us. I want to see those motorists who have concerns about the safety of our roadways taking it very personally and making the changes in relation to their poor driving habits first."
Top ten high collision intersections in London:
1.Wellington/ Exeter - 91 collisions 2. Wellington/ Commissioners - 82 collisions 3. Highbury/ Oxford - 73 collisions 4. Wharncliffe/ Oxford - 72 collisions 5. Hamilton/ Highbury - 68 collisions 6. Adelaide/ Oxford - 68 collisions 7. Fanshawe Park/ Adelaide - 67 collisions 8. Wonderland/ Oxford - 67 collisions 9. Sarnia/ Wonderland - 66 collisions 10. Highbury/ Huron - 63 collisions