We all know that driving can be dangerous. However, some places, streets, and intersections are more dangerous and see many more accidents than others do. And wouldn’t it be great to know where these dangerous, accident prone spots are?
Well, you can. And SeattlePI.com has done the hard work for you. It dug through the last six years of the Seattle Police Department’s 911 call records, and gathered information on the top 25 Seattle spots most likely to have an auto accident.
It is important to note that these crash-prone places do not include accidents that occur on Interstate 5, as that information is in a different database.
What are the top 25 accident prone locations in Seattle?
Here are the top 25 accident prone locations in Seattle, with the number of crashes from July of 2010 until mid-October 2016:
- 400 block of Northeast Northgate Way in Northgate: 262
- 10000 College Way North in Northgate: 214
- 800 block of Virginia Street in Belltown: 174
- 3000 block of South Myrtle Street in Holly Park: 155
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Way South and South Othello Street in Brighton: 120
- 2300 block of Southwest Barton Street in Roxhill: 118
- 4500 block of 25th Avenue Northeast in the University District: 116
- Aurora Avenue North and North 130th Street in Haller Lake and Bitter Lake: 114
- 12th Avenue and East Pike Street in the Capitol Hill district: 113
- Fairview Avenue North and Mercer Street in the South Lake Union neighborhood: 89
- Martin Luther King Way, Jr. South and South Graham Street in Columbia City: 88
- Eastbound West Seattle Bridge: 74
- 300 block of Northeast Northgate Way in Northgate: 72
- 2300 block of Southwest Webster Street in Delridge: 71
- 12th Avenue and South Jackson Street in the International District: 68
- Southbound Battery Street Tunnel in Belltown: 65
- 23rd Avenue South and South Jackson Street in the Central District: 63
- (tied for 18th) Fourth Avenue South and South Lander Street in SoDo: 62
- (tied for 18th) 1000 block of South Jackson Street in the International District: 62
- (tied for 20th) Rainier Avenue South and South Orcas Street in Columbia City: 60
- (tied for 20th) Sixth Avenue and James Street in Downtown: 60
- 4400 block of Fourth Avenue South in SoDo: 55
- (tied for 23rd) Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street in Rainier Valley: 54
- (tied for 23rd) 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street in Ballard: 54
- Fourth Avenue South and South Michigan Street in Georgetown: 53
Northgate made the list three times, with a total of 548 crashes. This is more than the total crashes at locations 17-25. Belltown came in second, with two high crash locations on the list, for a total of 239 crashes — less than half the number of crashes in Northgate.
Northgate, Belltown, Columbia City, SoDo, and the International District all had multiple locations on the list of accident-prone spots in Seattle.
The Silver Lining
There is no arguing that these streets and intersections are dangerous, but the good news is that everything is relative. The State of Washington came in sixth on the list of States with the Lowest Road Death Rates in an article by CITYLAB.com from The Atlantic.
The only states with lower road death rates per 100,000 population were the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, where large numbers of people use public transportation rather than driving their own vehicles. So in general, Seattle is a relatively safe place for drivers. You just need to know the problem areas.
Now that you know the top 25 locations where crashes occur in Seattle, you can avoid these places and the accidents they bring.
Unfortunately, our team knows that accidents happen everywhere. If you are unable to avoid a Seattle car accident, call the office of Max Meyers Law, PLLC today to schedule your free consultation to discuss your accident case: 425-399-7000.
