According to the provincial Office of Traffic Safety, an average of 64 people die and 8,044 are injured yearly at intersections across the province.  

That's prompting government officials to warn all road users to take precautions around intersections to prevent further tragedy.

Alberta's Minister of Transportation Brian Mason says, "Too many people get hurt or killed at intersections and we want to change that."  Although many call for intersections to be better marked with signage and traffic signals or changed to roundabouts, the facts show that 86 percent of all collisions are caused by driver error.  

That means, according to Tom Fowler, the Director of Public Education and Outreach with Alberta Transportation's Office of Traffic Safety, that drivers need to pay attention and make safe decisions to reduce intersection collisions.

"Over half of fatal intersection collisions happened in rural areas from 2011 to 2015.  We need to make sure we follow the rules of the road, coming to a complete stop, following the signals is one part of the concern but it's also being aware of your surroundings.  How many times do we see people stopped at an intersection and people think, 'it's now okay for me to pick up my phone'.  If you're not aware of cyclists, pedestrians.   It's a shared responsibility."

Fowler says three of the top five driver errors occur at intersections: Improper left turns, committing a stop sign violation and disobeying a traffic signal. 

When asked what he would remind all motorists of when it comes to intersection safety, Fowler says it's to make sure you're aware of your surroundings.  That goes for intersection safety, but it's also a good rule to follow anytime you're on the road.    

"Follow the rules of the road, be aware of your surroundings, don't be distracted or impaired.  When you pick up that phone, you're not aware of what's going on around you."

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