Crime & Safety

Traffic Accidents in Oconee Occur Most Often Along Epps Bridge Parkway, Study Finds

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office recently compiled data collected during the last three years.

Four of the top five areas that were the most accident-ridden in Oconee County during the last three years are located along Epps Bridge Parkway and the Ga. 316 corridor, according to data compiled by the .

"We had a request for some wreck information, and Cpt. Williams took it further to see what the data would show," Chief Deputy Lee Weems said. "I think it helps, at times, to look at long periods of data to see if any trends are developing. This helps with resource planning and allocation and to get a measure on whether or not strategies are working or if strategies need to be developed."

The study found there were 29 areas where more than 20 accidents occurred. The top five were:

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  1. 345 -- Epps Bridge Parkway at and Dowdy Road including the parking lots of Walmart, , and Jordon Drive
  2. 282 -- Epps Bridge Parkway and SR 10 Loop near including the parking lots of the Waffle House, and the
  3. 270 -- Epps Bridge Parkway and Jennings Mill Parkway around , , and including the parking lots of Home Depot, Kroger, Lowes and
  4. 238 -- Ga. Highway 316, the Oconee Connector, and Jennings Mill Road
  5. 224 -- Hog Mountain Road and Mars Hill Road by Butlers Crossing including the parking lots of , , McDonalds, Golden Pantry and all other business in the immediate area

The complete list is attached as a pdf.

The study also ranked 29 areas where five or more accidents with at least one injury (including fatalities) occurred during the same three-year span.Β 

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Thirty took place around Epps Bridge Parkway and the SR 10 Loop near Waffle House including the parking lots of nearby businesses; another 30 where Ga. Highway 316 meets the Oconee Connector; and 24 occurred near Epps Bridge Parkway and Jennings Mill Parkway close to Kroger, Home Depot and Lowes and including parking lots of those and other businesses.

Authorities hope educating the public about the areas most prone to accidents will help.

"As far as what the Sheriff’s Office can do, our tools are education and enforcement," Weems said.Β  "We prefer the former."

The Sheriff' Office can also make requests to the Georgia Department of Transportation or the county Public Works department, but each follow certain criteria for road design and traffic signals, he said.


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