The number of crashes at intersections in British Columbia was higher than average last year, according to statistics from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
The province saw 96,676 crashes in 2022 — 2,251 more than the five-year average — that caused injuries to 49,623 people.
On Vancouver Island, intersection crashes hit 10,559 last year, causing 5,161 injuries — up from 8,718 crashes in 2020 that caused injuries to 5,312 people.
Transportation consultant and analyst Chris Foord said the sheer number of vehicles on the roads is leading to risky driving and more crashes.
“It’s volume-induced frustration that’s leading to poor judgments — and collisions,” Foord said Monday. “Everywhere you drive, it’s busy now … it takes you longer to go from Point A to Point B, and it’s that volume that brings out negative driver behaviours.
“What I’m seeing is drivers are taking more chances than they normally would.”
He said some drivers are no longer just running yellow lights — they’re racing through red lights, too, sometimes crashing into someone who’s been waiting in the intersection to make a left-hand turn.
Some intersections and roadways are much worse for crashes than others.
Two areas in Saanich and one in Nanaimo were the top three most-crash-prone spots on Vancouver Island between 2018 and 2022, according to ICBC.
The data covers self-reported collisions up to April 1. The interactive page, with an accompanying map, gives viewers a searchable database on the number of crashes and the location of the crash on Vancouver Island and the rest of the province.
ICBC lists the area around Admirals Road/McKenzie Avenue and the Trans-Canada Highway as the most-crash-prone stretch of road on Vancouver Island from 2018 to 2022, with 267 crashes. The area was under construction until late December 2019.
Nanaimo’s most crash-prone spot — the second highest on Vancouver Island — is the intersection of the Island Highway and Metral Drive/Mostar Road, with 261 crashes.
Saanich also ranked in the top three for the intersection of Blanshard Street and Saanich Road, with 255 crashes.
Langford made it into the top five, with 254 collisions reported at the intersection of Millstream Road and the Trans-Canada Highway and Veterans Memorial Parkway.
Another intersection in Saanich that consistently makes the top-10 list is Patricia Bay Highway at Sayward Road, which recorded 249 incidents.
In Victoria, the intersection of Douglas and Finlayson streets was the most crash-prone, with 232 crashes.
The intersection where Douglas and Government streets meet Gorge Road and Hillside Avenue reported the same number of collisions.
In Nanaimo, the second most reported area for collisions was the intersection of Aulds Road and the Nanaimo Parkway, with 229 reports of crashes.
The third-ranked Victoria trouble area was the intersection of Bay Street and Blanshard Street, with 213 crashes.
Nanaimo rounds out the top 10 with 212 crashes reported where Enterprise Way intersects with the Island Highway.
Foord said the capital region’s population has doubled over the past 50 years and the road network hasn’t kept pace. He said construction of new buildings is bottlenecking some streets while bike lanes have reduced the number of lanes for vehicles on others, adding to overall congestion and increasing frustration.
Foord said he’s also seen the opposite — “some drivers are becoming extremely hesitant,” which can also cause collisions.
ICBC says its crash data is more comprehensive than police crash statistics because insurance coverage is mandatory for every vehicle in the province. Crash data is collected when the vehicle owner files an insurance claim with ICBC.
Police, in turn, typically only attend the more serious crashes involving injuries or fatalities. If a crash is minor, reporting it to police is not mandatory.
While the majority of reports are by vehicle owners and operators, pedestrians and cyclists can also file claims with ICBC following a collision with an insured vehicle.
The Island data is available at https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/icbc/viz/VancouverIslandCrashes/VIDashboard.
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