Older crash rankings don’t necessarily describe today’s risk at the intersections you drive through every day. Traffic volume, signal timing, road construction, and driving behavior change over time, which is why the data period behind any list matters.
Recent research highlights risks at a major city intersection, while historical crash counts reveal recurring concerns at interstate interchanges and busy arterial roads. Understanding the differences between these findings helps drivers identify hazards, take practical precautions, and respond after a collision.
What the 2026 Study Shows About Intersection Risk
The newest available multi-year study identifies North Academy Boulevard and Palmer Park Boulevard as the most dangerous intersection in Colorado Springs. The 2026 study examined crashes from January 2022 through November 2025, so it doesn’t include collisions after that period.
That intersection ranked second statewide. Twelve Colorado Springs intersections appeared in the statewide top 50, accounting for 1,262 crashes, 737 injuries, and eight fatalities during the study period. Those figures show why a single intersection’s reputation matters less than the broader pattern of high-volume roads, turning movements, and traffic conflicts.
Five intersections along Powers Boulevard also made the statewide top 50. The corridor serves as a major regional highway and expressway, with fast-moving traffic, multiple lanes, turning vehicles, and entrances that demand attention from every road user.
Intersection rankings are a useful warning, not a prediction. Slow down before entering wide intersections, leave room for unexpected stops, and look again for a vehicle turning across your path even when you have a green signal.
Historical 2020 Crash Counts Reveal Recurring Hotspots
Older crash counts remain useful for recognizing problem corridors, but they shouldn’t be treated as a current ranking. Colorado Springs Police Department analysis for 2020 found especially high crash volumes around several interstate interchanges.
- I-25 and South Nevada Avenue and South Tejon Street recorded 68 crashes in 2020, including nine injury crashes and one fatal crash.
- I-25 and West Garden of the Gods Road recorded 59 crashes in 2020.
- I-25 and Lake Avenue and South Circle Drive recorded 54 crashes in 2020.
Outside the interstate interchanges, Powers Boulevard and Stetson Hills Boulevard recorded 47 crashes in the 2020 analysis. Fountain Boulevard at Academy Boulevard recorded 40, while Airport Road at Academy recorded 38. These heavily traveled corridors continue to warrant extra caution around large, multilane intersections.
Interchange ramps add another layer of risk. A driver may be watching for freeway traffic, searching for an exit, changing lanes, or braking for a queue just as another driver turns or proceeds through a signal.
Why Serious Intersection Crashes Happen
Many intersection collisions result from a preventable conflict between road users. A green light gives a driver the right to proceed, but it doesn’t eliminate the need to watch for someone entering after the signal changes, failing to yield, or turning left across traffic.
In our work with local crash claims, common causes include distracted driving, speeding, aggressive driving, impaired driving, fatigue, unsafe lane changes, failure to yield, and red-light violations. Winter weather compounds these risks by reducing visibility and extending stopping distance.
The Colorado Department of Transportation identifies impairment, speeding, lack of seat belt use, and distracted driving among the leading factors in fatal Colorado crashes. At a complex arterial intersection, impairment, speed, and distraction leave little time to recognize stopped traffic, a pedestrian in a crosswalk, or a vehicle completing a turn.
Approaching a Green Light
Scan the first lanes of cross traffic before accelerating. A green signal doesn’t protect against a driver who enters late or ignores a red signal.
Making a Left Turn
Wait until oncoming traffic has cleared or the signal gives a protected turn. Don’t assume an approaching vehicle will stop simply because its light changes.
Using Busy Corridors
Leave extra following distance near ramps and multilane intersections. The added space gives you more time to react when traffic backs up.
How the City Is Addressing High-Risk Intersections
The city is taking a broad approach rather than relying only on enforcement after crashes occur. Safe Streets COS combines crash data, infrastructure improvements, enforcement tools, and public education to address serious traffic safety risks.
The Transportation Safety Action Plan aims to reduce serious-injury and fatal crashes by 35% by 2035, using 2023 as its baseline year. The city has also planned changes to left-turn signal phasing, meaning the timing and order of traffic signals, at Academy Boulevard and Palmer Park Boulevard.
Left-turn signal phasing separates turning vehicles from oncoming traffic, reducing a common T-bone crash scenario. The city also uses red-light safety cameras at select high-risk intersections with advance signage. Drivers should expect traffic controls and road configurations to change as safety projects move forward.
What an Intersection Crash Means for a Colorado Claim
A crash at a ranked intersection doesn’t establish fault by itself. Fault depends on the traffic signal, available video, and the actions of everyone involved.
Legal Rules That Shape a Colorado Claim
Colorado uses modified comparative negligence, which reduces an injured person’s damages by their percentage of fault. An injured claimant may recover damages if they’re less than 50% at fault. A claimant found 50% or more at fault can’t recover damages from the other party.
After a collision, protect your health and preserve evidence by taking these steps:
- Get medical attention for injuries.
- Exchange contact and insurance information.
- Photograph the scene when it’s safe.
- Preserve records related to the crash and your treatment.
Colorado generally allows three years from a motor vehicle accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. A wrongful death claim generally has a two-year deadline from the date of death. Insurance coverage also matters, including uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage when the at-fault driver has no insurance or inadequate policy limits.
Car Accident Claims We Handle
For individuals and families in El Paso County and Southern Colorado, we handle:
- Intersection collisions
- Rear-end crashes
- T-bone crashes
- Multi-vehicle crashes
- Uninsured or underinsured driver claims
- Fatal crash cases
We represent individuals and families, not insurance companies, and bring more than 150 years of combined legal practice to Colorado injury claims. If an intersection crash has left you with injuries or unanswered questions, call Gaddis, Herd, Craw & Adams, P.C. at (719) 625-3310 to discuss your situation.