If you listen to a police scanner in Brooklyn, it’s likely you will hear the words “accident with injuries at Tillary and Flatbush.” That’s because there are an estimated 180 collisions per year at the intersection, making it the most dangerous intersection in Brooklyn, according to information compiled from the city’s motor vehicle collision data set.
A student at CUNY-Baruch College who studied the collision data concluded that the most dangerous traffic intersections tend to be near on- and off-ramps of bridges and tunnels.
That includes the notorious Tillary Street-Flatbush Avenue intersection, which has access to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge.
Brooklyn’s worst intersections
Here are the 11 most dangerous intersections in Brooklyn, followed by the estimated number of motor-vehicle collisions per year.
- Tillary Street and Flatbush Avenue, 180 collisions per year
- Atlantic Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, 130
- Erskine Street and Seaview Avenue, 95.31
- Atlantic Avenue and Conduit Boulevard, 93.76
- Bushwick Avenue and Jackie Robinson Parkway, 88.79
- Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard, 88.17
- Eastern Parkway and Utica Avenue, 87.55
- Intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, 87.24
- Intersection of Tillary Street and Adams Street, 85.38
- Intersection of Bedford Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, 81.65
- Eastern Parkway and Atlantic Avenue, 79.17
A deep dive into the numbers also reveals that collisions are common along the entire lengths of Atlantic Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway.
Safety tips for Brooklyn driving
So how do you avoid being involved in a collision in Brooklyn? Here are three tips:
Put the phone away! When it seems like everyone on the road is using their phone, it can be difficult to not use the phone. But staying off your phone while driving can have a massive impact on your safety.
Don’t become dependent on auto-safety technology. A vehicle’s lane sensors and blind-spot warnings are awesome, but only if you don’t become totally reliant on them. Stay in the habit of using your eyes to check blind spots when making lane changes.
Leave enough time. Being in a hurry causes accidents. Leaving early for your destination will make you less stressed and could reduce your driving speed.