There have been 50 crashes at the intersection of State Routes 38 and 370 in the Town of Victory since 2007, including a fatal two-vehicle collision on Memorial Day.
Speaking on FLX Morning with Ted Baker, Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said that speed was not a factor in the majority of incidents. Instead, he blamed the bulk of crashes on failure to yield the right of way at the intersection.
“We’re seeing the majority of those crashes are due to failure to yield the right of way at the intersection,” Schenck said. “Speed has been a factor in very few of those crashes at that location so we do need to look at tother things; it’s not just speed that’s been a primary factor here, it’s the failure to yield the right of way.”
At the intersection, vehicles travelling on Rt 370 have the right of way while those travelling on Rt 38 are required to stop at stop signs.
Schenck added that he is hopeful that the New York State Department of Transportation will conduct an analysis of the site which could determine ways to make the intersection safer, including changing the geography of the road.
“I think it’s important for the community to know that speed enforcement might not necessarily be what is needed there,” Schenck continued. “It might be changing how the intersection comes together there so that we can address the fact that there is a failure to yield the right of way.”
16 of the aforementioned crashes resulted in injuries with another fatal crash having occurred in 2009.
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