ICBC's statistics show that of the top 10 highest crash rate intersections on Vancouver Island, 6 are located in the CRD.
In fact, the top 3 are in Saanich, at the corners of Admirals and the Trans Canada (111 crashes), Blanshard and Saanich (84), and the Pat Bay and Sayward (74).
The stats are based of a 2017 report, which also has Millstream road at the Trans Canada off-ramp (69) on the list. Steve Wallace, with Wallace Driving School, says there are a lot of things in that intersection that can lead to crashes.
"Sometimes the sun gets in peoples eyes, you've got a pedestrian crossing there as well. There's a bunch of other things going on."
He goes on to say that most crashes he sees happen during a left turn.
"The left turn cheaters, a lot of time get caught, and that's where you have the far lane moving through, the guy's timed the lights, and he will bolt through as that latent left turner is trying to complete the move on the red light."
Wallace says says other problem areas are odd shaped intersections.
"Hillside and Douglas, because you've got that five-headed monster there, and the angles are different, they're not at right angles. If you go to, let's say McKenzie and Quadra, again they're not at right angles. So any intersections that seem to be out of the norm of 90 degree angles, have higher crash rates."
However, Wallace believes the CRD won't hold as many positions on the top ten list in the future. He says once the McKenzie interchange project is completed in November, the number of crashes there will drop. He says Saanich has a delayed left turn on the corner of McKenzie and Quadra, and because the traffic goes, then is delayed before the left turn light ignites, it allows for pedestrians to get out of the way, resulting in a smoother traffic flow. He would like to see more delayed turning lights across the CRD in order to improve traffic flow and reduce the number of collisions.