Students should navigate several intersections carefully as they head home for the holidays.

Several intersections are known trouble spots for traffic accidents, including the intersections at Annie Glidden Road with Bethany Road, Old State Road and Illinois Route 64.

“Glidden Road is a very busy road, and the Bethany Road intersection came into being mid- to late-last year,” said DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott.

So far this year, seven accidents, including one fatal, have occurred at the intersection, Scott said. The intersection being relatively new, the high traffic rate and lack of traffic control devices contribute to the high number of accidents, he said.

Scott said most of the accidents on Annie Glidden Road are caused by a car pulling out too early or too late from a stop sign at the intersection. Eastbound and westbound traffic have to stop at the intersection, and northbound and southbound traffic should be aware of crossing traffic at the intersection, Scott said.

According to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s office annual report, failing to yield caused 10 accidents at the Annie Glidden Road intersections of Bethany Road, Old State Road and Illinois Route 64. Three other causes include improper lane usage, weather and speed, according to the report.

In 2006, Peace Road and Fairview Drive was the site of the most accidents with 10, according to the report.

In DeKalb, several intersections are also problem areas for drivers.

From 2004 to 2006, the intersection of Annie Glidden Road and Lincoln Highway had the largest amount of accidents, according to the DeKalb Police Department annual report.

So far in 2007, 10 accidents have occurred at the intersection, according to the DeKalb Police Department reports. The current highest intersection for 2007 is First and Locust streets, with 13 accidents so far, according to reports.

“In those areas, there is a very high amount of traffic. It has some of the heaviest traveled roads in DeKalb County, especially Annie Glidden and Lincoln Highway,” said DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen. “The difficulty is that, with Annie Glidden Road, you have a lot of pedestrians crossing the roads at various points and at intersections. With the large amount of traffic and with all the pedestrian traffic, it is a lot for drivers to keep their eye on.”

Feithen said they have also been getting more reports of drivers trying to beat the red light, and entering the intersection when the crossing street has a green light.

The DeKalb Police Department applied for a traffic enforcement grant with the goal to reduce traffic accidents on Annie Glidden Road, Sycamore Road and West Lincoln Highway, Feithen said.

“Those three areas are going to be getting extra enforcement,” he said. “Not only speed enforcement, but also traffic signal enforcement.”