What Are the Most Dangerous Roads in Tulsa?

Tulsa is a thriving and busy city, so it makes sense that its roads are also quite busy. While you might be a careful driver, not everyone is, and we bet you know exactly which streets and highways are the worst. Perhaps it’s the road you and your coworkers always complain about when it causes you to be late to work. It could be one of the intersections that’s packed around rush hour. Maybe it’s that one stretch of highway where there seem to be more exits and entrance ramps than actual roadway.

What Tulsa roadways are the most dangerous?

In 2021, the city set a record with the amount of deadly car crashes. Sixty-nine people died in car accidents in just that year alone, up from fifty deaths the year before. There are four main roadways that seem to have the greatest number of accidents in Tulsa. Connected to these roadways are other streets that also see consistent traffic accidents. They are:

• Broken Arrow Expressway. The Broken Arrow Expressway, also known as State Highway 51, is one of the busiest highways in Tulsa. Thousands of people drive it every day, and may find themselves in multi-vehicle crashes.
• Memorial Drive. This road is full of busy intersections, like the 71st Street intersection that leads to the Woodland Hills Shopping Mall and many subdivisions, or the 81st Street intersection where St. John’s Urgent Care is, along with many shopping areas and centers. Intersections are notorious for traffic accidents, and Memorial Drive is no different.
• S. 169. This highway also contains some dangerous intersections at 51st street and 41st street. On 51st street, traffic lanes change numbers, while traffic enters 51st from a busy highway. The same can be said about 41st street, seeing exceptional traffic during rush hour. Rush hour can be deadly: “In 2019, there were 5,540 fatal car crashes during rush hour (morning and evening). Those crashes accounted for 16.7 percent out of the 33,244 fatal crashes in 2019.”
• 61st Street. This street holds one of the busiest intersections in the city as it is surrounded by hotels, shops, and restaurants, while also being a common place for through traffic from Tulsa Union’s 6^th and 7^th Grade Center as well as the high school.

Recognizing where your risk of danger is greatest can be helpful in that you can plan to be extra cautious when driving those roads in order to reduce your risk of suffering any injuries. Even so, no one can control the actions of others and if you are hurt as a result of the negligence of another, you have legal options.

What kind of injuries can I sustain from traffic accidents?

Whether you are hit while on foot, riding your bike or your motorcycle, or while you are in your car, a traffic accident can leave you seriously injured, possibly leaving your life irrevocably changed. Some of the injuries you can expect include:

• Broken/fractured bones. There are varying factors that determine how severe a fracture is. If the bone is visible, having punctured the skin, then that is an open fracture and can present an increased risk of infection, making it a medical emergency. If the bone does not break the skin, it is called a closed fracture. If the bone snaps completely into two pieces, it is called a complete fracture. Partial fractures are when the break in the bone does not break completely through the bone. Depending on the person and the bone that was broken, it can take varying amounts of time to heal. All bone breaks and fractures should be treated as quickly as possible.
• Traumatic brain injury. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when the brain is injured; such injuries usually occur during traffic accidents when the head is forcefully hit. While some TBIs can be mild (such as a concussion), more severe TBIs can leave lasting trauma. Symptoms of a head injury include headaches, nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, memory loss, drowsiness, and confusion. Head injuries should always be taken seriously.
• Spinal injuries. Spinal injuries occur when damage is done to your spine or to the nerves of your spinal cord (SCI). With the spine being the major highway of information and signals for your brain and body, when it is injured, it can have serious effects on the rest of your body. SCIs can lead to paralysis. Complete paralysis is when there is no feeling or sensation beneath the point of the injury. Incomplete paralysis is when there is still some remaining feeling and sensation beneath the injury point, though it may be less or different than before the injury.
• Neck injuries. While neck injuries are very common in car accidents, it doesn’t make them any less dangerous. From whiplash (an injury sustained from the forceful jolting of your neck) to herniated discs, to pinched nerves, all neck injuries need medical attention. Symptoms can range anywhere from numbness and pain in your neck, arms, and shoulders, to bowel and bladder issues. It is important to make sure that your neck injuries are seen to by a medical professional as soon as you realize something is not right.

Why you need a Tulsa car accident lawyer

Tulsa is a great and beautiful city to live in, but we have to be careful when driving its highways and streets. Too many people are injured and die in accidents every day. If you have been injured on a busy roadway or at a chaotic intersection, then you may be eligible for compensation if someone else was responsible for your injuries. Distracted driving and drunk driving are so often the culprits behind car accidents these days. With ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft becoming increasing popular they are a proving to be a more frequent source of traffic accidents. No matter the situation, if someone risked your life by causing the accident that left you with injuries, both physical and mental, then do not wait. Call a Tulsa car accident lawyer so you can get started on the road to recovery.

At Biby Law Firm, you are our number one priority. You have suffered enough. Call our Tulsa car accident lawyers at 918-574-8458, or complete our contact form to schedule an appointment. Initial consultations are always free.