SALEM - She might as well call it the $9,000 intersection.

That's how much damage was done to Salem resident Jessica Palmer's Volkswagen Beetle after it bottomed out on the traffic island at one of the city's most confusing intersections - the four-way stop at Route 1A and Derby and Congress streets.

Palmer was taking a left from Congress onto Derby one night in March when her car hit the island straight-on, gutting the bottom of the seven-year-old VW and detonating the air bags.

Palmer was taken to the emergency room and treated for minor injuries. Her car was towed to a mechanic's garage, where it underwent extensive repairs for the next five months.

With no signs or reflectors warning motorists, the island could not be seen in the dark, Palmer said. Days later, crews installed an orange road barrel with a reflector.

Despite recent improvements, many drivers still rank the intersection as one of the most notorious in Salem.

Even during the day, the intersection can be a virtual free-for-all, some drivers said. All four roads are well-traveled, not only by vehicles, but by pedestrians and, especially, tourists. The stop signs are set back behind crosswalks (as dictated by law), but because the intersection is so wide, many drivers have to stop once at the sign, then stop again as they approach the intersection.

To many drivers, the traffic islands seem to jut out into the intersection, making it difficult to make 90-degree turns.

Then there's the matter of the four-way stop, which many Massachusetts drivers aren't exactly well-versed on.

"I just try to avoid it at all times. ... I think it's really unsafe," Palmer said. "It's chaos."

Police statistics seem to tell a different story. Only 23 crashes have occurred in the intersection over the last three years, according to Salem police crash data.

Of course, some drivers, such as Salem resident Henley Douglas Jr., never report their accidents.

Two weeks ago, Douglas tried to turn left from Hawthorne Boulevard onto Derby Street when an oncoming car, turning in the other direction, forced him to pull closer to the left and accidentally ride up on the traffic island.

"It just sliced my two tires," Douglas said.

The Salem resident had to have his car towed and his two tires replaced at a cost of $300.

"There's no reason for those islands to be there at all," Douglas said.

Ward 1 Councilor Lucy Corchado - herself a crash victim at the intersection - said more needs to be done to make the intersection safe.

"There really needs to be some traffic lights, something I've been advocating for a number of years," Corchado said.

Years ago, before the four-way stop signs were installed, a car slammed into the passenger side of Corchado's vehicle as she headed from one side of the intersection to the other.

"People just get to the stop sign - if they stop - they're all looking at each other and no one knows who goes first," Corchado said. "Whoever's more bold or aggressive makes the move and goes through. Then the person behind them goes through, too. ... The four-way stop clearly is not the answer."

So what about traffic lights?

The underground conduits for the lights were installed when the intersection was renovated last year, according to City Planner Lynn Duncan.

But setting up the rest of the traffic lights will require more money.

"That's still something the city would like to do, but we don't have funding at this point in time," Duncan said.

In the meantime, Duncan said, the intersection is safe.

"I think the intersection is working," Duncan said. "The four-way stop is certainly better than when it was a three-way stop."

Salem police Lt. Robert Preczewski said the intersection meets federal safety standards.

His advice to drivers?

"I'd watch out for pedestrians first because they'll be coming from all four directions," he said. "Then, I guess I'd be as courteous as I could to other drivers and slowly make my way through it after I stopped."

As for Palmer, her VW Beetle was back on the road for the first time in five months last week. But not after the cost of repairs reached nearly $9,000 - more than what it cost to actually buy the car.

Fortunately for her, insurance is paying for most of it.

Mechanics had to reset the air bags and replace the transmission, engine and computer system.

"The car's never going to be normal," Palmer said. "It still veers to the right."

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Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at 978-338-2526 or by e-mail at ccassidy@ecnnews.com.