ODESSA, Texas — More and more drivers on the road have been missing or disregarding road signs while they're behind the wheel.
While it may not happen every day, there have been an increased amount of accidents because of these missed road signs.
"It kind of goes in spurts, but it is extreme. It's something that we should take very serious,” Odessa Police Department Public Information Officer Steve LeSueur said.
There are many things causing drivers to become distracted.
Some are on their phone while they're driving. Others are rushing to beat the light. Some drivers just don't even see a stop sign or a pedestrian crossing the street.
In Odessa, a top sign regarding crashes has been identified.
“Here in Odessa, the top cause for crashes is actually turning left when it's unsafe," LeSueur said. "So that could be at an intersection, you know, attempting to yield or just turning left when the other green arrow and somebody still hits you because they're running the light.”
While some intersections and streets are worse than others, these types of turns can happen anywhere.
“Their attempting to turn left at a private drive or a private parking lot or their staff center. Or, it could be the opposite where they're attempting to turn left into a private drive or a parking lot and their traffic might be backed up three lanes of traffic," LeSueur said. "Whatever the case may be, you might have two lanes that are letting him through within the third lane doesn't see them. So then they're turning left and then they cause a crash.”
Missing or ignoring any type of sign can cause an unfortunate domino affect that can result in a crash that can cost an innocent person their life.
“It's just so important to allow plenty of time to get to and from your destination," LeSueur said. "I know a lot of times people get impatient because they're running late, but just slow down, it's not worth it. It's not worth it to run red lights and it's not worth it to run stop signs.”