Which is the most dangerous highway in America?

The Most Dangerous Highway: I 95

The most dangerous highway in America.

That dubious distinction brings with it some heavy notoriety, considering the risks drivers face every day.

Every time you get in a car to head out on the highways, you face a one out of 366 chance of getting into an accident. Those odds apply for every 1,000 miles driven.

Accidents can and do happen anywhere.

So, what is the worst highway in all of America?

Authors of an insurance comparison website called “The Zebra” sifted through data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA. After doing so they labeled Interstate I-95 “the most dangerous highway in America.”

Most noteworthy, the group looked at the number of fatal accidents occurring on I- 95 over its entire length up and down the east coast from Florida to Maine. The interstate highway threads through and around major cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Miami.

I-95 snakes through 91 miles of Massachusetts and 16 miles along the seacoast of New Hampshire.

In one year, I-95 saw 284 fatalities. That means 14.88 fatalities for every 100 miles of the highway.

Overall, those I-95 accidents, many of them, took place in the northeast in the winter, when road conditions deteriorate. A number of accidents also occurred on the east coast of Florida in and around Jacksonville and Brevard County, just outside of Orlando. At the same time, anyone familiar with I-95 in Massachusetts and New Hampshire knows just how treacherous the road can become during winter weather.

Interstate Highway Dangers

Why is interstate 95 the most dangerous highway in America? Well, here are 5 reasons accidents happen on interstate highways:

Falling Asleep

Long stretches of highway lull some drivers into an almost trance like state of mind. Long hours on a highway with no traffic lights, intersections or other demands can almost pacify a driver. Drowsy driving and falling asleep are actually severe dangers we’ve addressed elsewhere.

Local roads with frequent stops or changes in scenery pretty much keep your brain active and alert. The brain faces a need to make constant decisions. On the other hand, driving for a long time staring at highway lines can put the brain into an almost trance-like condition if it doesn’t put one to sleep. Obviously neither make for safe driving.

Rear End Accidents – Following too closely

One of the most common types of accidents taking place on interstate highways is the rear-ender. The rules of the road require all motor vehicle operators to maintain a safe driving distance behind other cars. But, when is the last time you saw most drivers doing that, especially on an interstate? Pressured by deadlines both at work and home, drivers in a hurry fail to pay attention and push dangerously close to the car in front.

The dangerous practice of tailgating violates the rules of the road. The moment the car in front slows or stops, it catches the driver behind off-guard. The tailgating car slams into the vehicle in the front.

Such rear-end accidents often happen around exits and entrances to interstates. They also happen in the stop-and-go traffic plaguing interstates during heavy traffic periods, often in morning and evening rush hours.

Lane changing

Changing lanes when required is one thing. But hopping back and forth from lane to lane based on which one is empty or where the traffic is temporarily the fastest leaves the rest of us shaking our heads. You know what I mean. One driver always stands out weaving in and out carefree as though the rest of us don’t exist. Either that bad driver hits someone eventually or causes an accident when the rest of us have to get out of their way.

Drunk Driving Drugged Driving

Enough cannot be said about the dangers of driving intoxicated or drugged. The threat intensifies when mixed with interstate highway traffic patterns. Local traffic jumps on one entrance and off the next. At the same time, long-distance high-speed traffic pushes through on the same lanes. That, mixed with impaired drivers, not operating at 100% full capacity endangers everyone.

Distracted Driving

People think of blabbing on the cell phone or texting as major distractions. But full attention to the task of driving also diminishes by eating, adjusting the radio, conversations with others in the car, smoking or anything that robs the driver’s attention.

In 2020 there were 3,142 people killed and an estimated additional 324,652 people injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.

Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA Distracted Driving 2020

Interstate speeds intensify the likelihood of an accident and the severity of impact. No doubt then that distracted driving ranks as a major factor in interstate crashes.

Construction

Accidents in and around construction sites rank high on interstate highways. The threat of sudden slow downs intensifies during fair weather months when most construction takes place. Changing traffic patterns coupled with reduced lanes and distraction brought about by construction itself combine to cause crashes and injuries.

Rear-end collisions caused by sudden stops and speeding as drivers approach construction sites pose the greatest danger in and around construction sites.

I-95 claims the prize as one of the oldest interstates. It started out as a patchwork of toll roads, turnpikes and other old roadways. So, it makes sense that construction is a regular happening up and down the highway any time weather permits.

Why is I -95 the most dangerous highway?

I-95 earned the dubious distinction as the most dangerous highway in America by way of accident statistics reviewed by authors of a consumer insurance website. But why is I-95 the worst?

As the main north-south interstate running through and around such major cities as Miami, Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and others, it connects the heavily populated east coast megalopolis. In Greater Boston, it joins the dreaded Route 128, the beltway or “circumferential” route around Boston. Those of us who drive Route 128 a/k/a I-95 see and know that accidents are a multiple-times-a-day occurrence. Even if you just listen to traffic reports … well, there would be no traffic reports without the congestion and carnage on Route 128.

Certainly, the general reputation of “Boston drivers” or “Massachusetts Drivers” contributes to the daily challenges that add up to overall I-95 traffic statistics.

At the same time, New Hampshire provides its own hazards along I-95. Just 4 miles north of the Massachusetts – New Hampshire border, two state run liquor stores straddle the highway, one on each side. Special exit and entrance ramps for the stores tap into the interstate highway providing access to the state revenue generators. Then, just a few miles north sit toll booths, backing up traffic sometimes for miles especially in summer beach months and other heavy traffic times.

Keeping the above New Hampshire and Massachusetts driving issues in context, remember that I-95 shoots straight through the center of New York City and Philadelphia. Having driven white-knuckled through NYC and Philly many times, as well as the entire length of I-95 in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, it’s easy to see how those sections earned I-95 the reputation as the most dangerous highway in America.

When Accidents Happen:

Whether an accident happens on an interstate or a local road, those injured sometimes attempt a personal injury claim themselves. People injured due to the bad driving of others sometimes believe the insurance companies will give them a fair shake. Most often though they run into the buzz saw of insurance companies delaying and fighting accident claims. The insurance industry’s own statistics show those represented by an injury lawyer obtain 3 or 4 times more than those who are not represented.

The Law Offices of Andrew D. Myers have successfully handled personal injury claims in New Hampshire and Massachusetts for years. For an initial free consultation with an experienced attorney contact us through the “contact us” block on this page or one of the listed phone numbers.

Interstate I-20 came in as the second most dangerous highway, and number three went to I-5, according to the same study.

Sources:

The Zebra, The Most Dangerous Roads in the U.S.

Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA, Distracted Driving 2020

Andrew Myers

Attorney Myers is a member of the American Association For Justice, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, New Hampshire Association For Justice, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys & Rotary International. Legal services provided in Massachusetts (MA) and New Hampsire (NH).

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View Comments

Tom Myers says:

November 24, 2022 at 1:10 pm

Imagine 100 miles of road that gets heavy traffic and 100 miles that’s barely travelled. Accidents and deaths per mile seem inappropriate measures. The relationship between traffic and accidents and deaths is not strictly linear. A unit increase in traffic results in a power increase in accidents and similar but lower power in deaths.

I-95 threads through some of the best trauma centers in the world.

Up north there’s snow and ice, but fog is at least as bad for accidents.