Pick a route you drive all the time, such as the one you take to work or to visit your mom. Now think through it (with the aid of a map if need be) and count how many left turns you make and how many rights you take.
If you want to make that journey safer, you can probably do so by making one simple change to your route:
Reduce the number of left turns
Statistics show that 61% of intersection crashes involve someone turning left. This is because you need to cross the flow of traffic coming toward you. Your safety will depend on you and them being in perfect coordination and one slight misjudgement by either side could lead to a crash.
There are caveats to this. The new route with fewer lefts could end up being more dangerous if it takes you across busy intersections that do not have lights. However, as a general rule, it holds true that reducing rights can help you stay safe.
Won’t it take much longer?
Not necessarily. Often you must wait a long time for a gap in the traffic to make a left turn. When there are lights, the allocation for turning left is usually much less than that given to other directions.
Won’t you spend more on fuel?
You may need to go around the block to avoid a left turn, but parcel delivery service UPS found that their drivers saved fuel by doing so, because idling while waiting for an opportunity to turn left wastes a lot of fuel.
While reducing the number of left turns can reduce the chance you have a crash, it cannot rule it out altogether as so much depends on other drivers. If one of them injures you, you’ll need to learn more about your legal options.