Do you think car accidents happen more on freeway or on local streets?

[been14years]

 I want to ask Do you think car accidents happen more on freeway or on local streets? What were your experience with traffic and accidents, do you see it more in freeway or local streets?

--------

My husband had an older sister (8 years older than him) he the baby one in the family and the only son. His older sister died in a car accident on freeway, a drunk driver crash into her car, she died on scene, the drunk driver died in the hospital.

My husband hate drunk drivers to the core, not only you kill yourself, but you also kill others, there might be a baby in that car, might be a dad, a mom that will leave their children behind that the drunk driver you drink and drive caused.

I asked this question, perhaps also to remind myself to understand my husband more about the situation with his mom, his mom is 81 and quadriplegia paralyze and kidney failure. He has to care for his mother.
Because his mother has no one left here in U.S., his father already deceased (died of pancreas cancer), his older sister already gone too. He (her biological son) is the only person she has left in U.S.
She does have one brother (his maternal uncle) but back in their homeland, not here in U.S., so his mom basically alone here and quadriplegia paralyze. My husband is all she has left.

[ShySoul]

Is it cheating to say both?

Freeways involve higher speeds so they end up being more deadly. But street driving involves a lot of start and stop. There is less room. There are more people who can appear out of no where. There are more distractions. A lot of accidents happen at intersections. People running a light, not stopping in time, missing a sign. There are more things that can go wrong.

Had a cousin killed in an accident on a street. He was riding a bike home in the evening. It was dark and the driver missed seeing a stop sign, which wasn't well lit and people had complained about it not being noticable. Driver didn't even know what happened and hit him before he could do anything. Cousin was only 18.

I also can't stand drunk drivers, or any driver who endangers people with reckless behavior. If you drink, don't get beind the wheel. Don't cut people off just to get two cars ahead. It's stupid and risks the lives of you and everyone unfortunate enough to be near you.

[Seraphim]

More accidents happen at or near intersections. So city driving . In fact, it’s more often you have an accident about a mile from home than anywhere else. It is just that the hwy has more potential for death and destruction due to higher speeds. 

[Kwothe28]

Since by statistics lots of them happens at intersections, then its local, not highway. I can see highway being more deadly because of the speed, but most car accidents are not fatal ones. Sometimes you have just physical damage to car and stuff like that. 

[yogacat]

Not without the data in front of me, it's hard to say.

My cousin died young from an accident on the highway.

I have been hit by drivers twice-once parked at a red light on a local street and another by a Tractor Trailor on the highway-it incidentally gave me my first panic attack.

It's hard to say if more happen on freeways or local streets since it really depends on the area in question and the drivers involved.

I would guess that more accidents would occur on local streets because of the higher volume of traffic in more densely populated areas, while in more open, rural areas, freeways might be more prone to accidents because of higher speeds and less concentration of traffic.

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's sister. 

It is very hard when one person is the sole care giver for another. Does his mother have any financial resources to possibly hire additional help? You might want to contact the Kidney Foundation to see if they might be able to provide assistance for your mother in law. Sounds like you have quite a lot going on atm. 

I can only imagine...have you taken a day just for the two of you to relax and recoup.

Update Edit: This report from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) states accidents occurs more on "local roads" vs. "highways."

Urban/rural comparison (iihs.org)

*most accidents occur on "Collector" and "Arterial" roads (I'm not sure which category those fall under, i.e. local or highway-like roads...)

[ShySoul]

2 hours ago, Seraphim said:

In fact, it’s more often you have an accident about a mile from home than anywhere else

I've always found that stat about accidents happening closer to home to be misleading. Realistically, that's where you will spend more of your time driving, so naturally there is a greater chance that an accident will occur. 

Maybe we should start avoiding our homes? 😁

9 hours ago, been14years said:

His older sister died in a car accident on freeway, a drunk driver crash into her car, she died on scene, the drunk driver died in the hospital.

Sorry for the loss. Feels like such a senseless thing that didn't need to happen. Costs two people there life and could have been avoided with a little common sense.

Hope you, the husband, and his mother are doing well.

[Cherylyn]

I've observed more accidents on side streets and intersections than freeways. 

[Coily]

There are two categories that I think need to be taken into account. Fatal/Critical injury and non-fatal. Then you need to account for the regions and driving habits associated with them.

I would argue the majority of of fatal accidents East of the Mississippi and West of the Sacramento Valley are going to be on the Highways. Due to the higher speeds, higher living density, the Prevalence of Maryland, Georgia and new york drivers, and the general lack of follow distances of drivers. Though by volume  non-fatal accidents on side streets and minor roads those same areas have more accidents. Think of someone backing into a car, or an accident with a fixed object.

In the Fly-over parts of the US, things are a bit more leveled out in terms of highway vs local, and lack of Maryland drivers.

In Europe it's very similar from my experience, though I have not ventured East of Austria so far. The difference I notices was more mid speed incidents, so without more day to day, I can't pin down regions as well.