Police Officer in Hartsville Involved in Crash; Injury Reported
HARTSVILLE, SC- Wpde.com writes that a two-vehicle crash occurred in Hartsville at the intersection of Washington Street and Fifth Street. One person was injured in the afternoon accident, and responders transported the victim to the hospital.*
The officer was not hospitalized following the collision. Images from the scene show severe damage on the passenger side of a police cruiser. The other vehicle was a silver-colored sedan that appears to have sustained damage on its front end.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration writes that intersections are a common location for crashes to occur because there are numerous opportunities for conflict. Left turns, right turns, and cars crossing a centerline are all ways for a massive crash to occur. In a review of various intersection collision types, left turns were the most common cause of wrecks. The next most likely type of intersection incident is a vehicle crossing through the crossroads, followed by right turns. More than half of intersection collisions occurred at locations controlled by traffic signals.
Making intersections safer might require a completely different road design. When it comes to safer roads, roundabouts have been shown to greatly decrease the chances of crashes occurring. Part of the reason that roundabouts are safer is that they cause the flow of traffic to slow down. When this happens, crashes are less likely, and the severity of crashes drops as well. Fatal crashes are significantly reduced when roundabouts replace crossroads style intersections. Pedestrians are less likely to be struck at roundabouts than at other types of intersections as well. Roundabouts are also effective at improving the flow of traffic.
Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes. To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.
Sources:
https://wpde.com/news/local/hartsville-police-officer-involved-in-a-wreck-one-sent-to-hospital
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811366
https://www.iihs.org/topics/roundabouts