Blooming signs of spring serve as a reminder that the 100 Most Dangerous Days to Drive (Memorial Day to Labor Day) of the year are approaching. To prepare for that time, it’s important the focus on ways to limit the peril of driving.
Safe driving tactics are clearly important, but “location, location, location” affects road safety as well. Some roads and highway systems are shown to be more dangerous than others.
The Daily Beast analyzed accident data compiled from 2004 through 2008 by the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA) to determine the 100 Deadliest Interstates. Interstates are highways that link the major cities in the United States. The figures, however, were determined by breaking each interstate into stretches within a single state. Daily Beast analysts then took the number of fatal accidents (not total fatalities) and divided it by the number of miles in that stretch to arrive at a Fatal Accidents per Mile figure.
This list is a preliminary means of striving for safety on the road and successful completion of trips. Clearly, all drivers cannot avoid these highways, but a higher level of safety may be attained through awareness of the additional danger on each interstate.
In the Top 10 Deadliest Highways, some states appear more often than others and some regions of the United States seem to be more dangerous. Bear in mind the list does not take into account smaller highways or roads that may be highly dangerous, such as those that pass through mountainous areas.
Top 10 Deadliest Highways
#1, I-95, Florida
- In-state miles: 382.15
- Fatal accidents: 662
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.73
- Total fatalities: 765
#2, I-76, New Jersey
- In-state miles: 3.04
- Fatal accidents: 5
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.64
- Total fatalities: 6
#3, I-4, Florida
- In-state miles: 132.39
- Fatal accidents: 209
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.58
- Total fatalities: 234
#4, I-15, California
- In-state miles: 287.26
- Fatal accidents: 437
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.52
- Total fatalities: 506
#5, I-10, California
- In-state miles: 242.54
- Fatal accidents: 341
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.41
- Total fatalities: 387
#6, I-59, Louisiana
- In-state miles: 11.48
- Fatal accidents: 16
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.40
- Total fatalities: 16
#7, I-94 , Illinois
- In-state miles: 61.53
- Fatal accidents: 85
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.38
- Total fatalities: 89
#8, I-93, Massachusetts
- In-state miles: 47.07
- Fatal accidents: 61
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.30
- Total fatalities: 67
#9, I-95 , Delaware
- In-state miles: 23.43
- Fatal accidents: 29
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.24
- Total fatalities: 30
#10, I-55 , Tennessee
- In-state miles: 12.28
- Fatal accidents: 15
- Fatal accidents per mile: 1.22
- Total fatalities: 16
Click here to see the rest of the list.
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