Clayton County

Which metro Atlanta intersections had the most crashes last year? Here’s what the data shows

By Michael Doudna
By Michael Doudna

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — In 2022, Georgia roads saw 384,527 crashes, according to Georgia Department of Transportation data.

That’s 1,053 accidents a day. Nearly 44 accidents an hour. Channel 2′s Michael Doudna looked through the data to find the intersections with the most crashes in the metro Atlanta area.

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Doudna looked at the crash data for more than 380,000 crash reports from GDOT.

There have been 207 crashes at or near the intersection of Panola Raod and Covington Highway, right near the homes of Kent Wade and Joseph Hall.

“I think it’s way way way too dangerous,” Hall told Doudna.

While speaking to Doudna, cars sped by, and you could hear them burning rubber.

“See? Look at that, unbelievable,” Hall said. “They go too fast.”

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It’s not just happening at that Panola Road intersection. There are five intersections which have the most crashes reported, according to the GDOT data.

Others that ranked high on the number of crash reports were spread across the metro area and included:

  • Covington Highway and Panola Road- 207 crashes.
  • Covington Highway and South Hairston Road- 154 crashes
  • North Hairston Road and Memorial Drive- 140 crashes.
  • Godby Road and Old National Highway- 138 crashes
  • Tara Boulevard and Veterans Memorial Parkway – 135 crashes

So, why are there so many crashes at these intersections, or nearby?

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This does not mean there were 207 crashes right at the intersection of Covington and Panola. When each crash is reported, the crash report includes the closest intersection.

However, the high number of crashes has officials like Clayton County Commissioner Felicia Franklin wanting to see something done.

“You have to remember that this intersection is the intersection between two state highways,” Franklin said.

She’s worked on trying to improve safety at Tara Boulevard for years and says the amount of cars is a major factor, but so is speed. Sometimes, according to Franklin, even the road and intersection designs have a hand in the number of accidents.

“It’s a mix of both be quite honest. A lot of it is the number of cars going through, but at the same token we need to make sure people slow down when they are coming to those areas,” Franklin continued.

To really make changes, Franklin said more resources are needed, both to cut down the number of accidents and to make the roads safer.

“We have more work to do,” she said.

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