APPLETON, Wis.(WFRV)- In part 2 of Local 5 Investigates, worst roads, worst nightmare, we travel to the Fox Valley to identify the intersection in Appleton that has the most reported incidents per year.

Appleton Police have identified the roundabout at Richmond and Northland as the intersection with the most incidents for the past 3 years. “It’s no surprise that in the three-years that the round about has been open, it has lead to a number of crashes,” said Captain Todd Freeman of Appleton Police Department. The intersection was a traffic signal controlled location, and city engineers developed a plan to create a roundabout there partly because of heavy traffic flow. “The crashes at this location are relatively minor, with low property damage number,” said Freeman. Appleton Police recorded a number of high speed related crashes at that intersection prior to the roundabout, numbers now are lower.

While Local 5’s Eric Richards was at the roundabout with Captain Freeman, they both witnesses a number of “near-miss” situations that could have lead to an accident. “A lot of times, drivers are confused as to what lane they are in and what lane they will enter,” said Freeman. The lane starts and directions can appear somewhat confusing, but paying attention can help avoid an accident from happening. “We are satisfied with the reduction of significant injuries. The economic impact of crashes at an intersection or roundabout compared to traffic signal controlled intersections are significantly less,” said Freeman.

We also took a look at the I-41 corridor through the Fox Valley. Scott Nelson of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation says that the majority of crashes on the stretch of highway between Outagamie and Winnebago Counties, are rear end collisions. “Those collisions are due to a high volume of traffic and over capacity,” said Nelson. As winter and snow season gets here, low visibility is also a huge factor in crashes as well. ” No matter what happens, give yourself plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you,” said Nelson.