For the Thanksgiving holiday, 4.5 million Floridians will get into their vehicles and travel at least 50 miles. This does not necessarily have to be a dangerous adventure, but in some locations, it just may be. That’s because Florida has some of the most dangerous roads in the country. In fact, the state saw more than 396,000 car accidents in 2022.
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Dangerous Roads in Florida
These are some of the most dangerous routes in the state.
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 is one of the most dangerous roads in Florida because 677 people died on this road between 2018 and 2022. The interesting thing is that these crashes were the result of very simple driving maneuvers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA discovered that many fatal crashes occurred after the driver made a left or a right turn. Florida is the most dangerous state for motorists making turns. Specifically, more people die in crashes in Florida after turns than in any other state in the nation.
Interstate 4
It is only fitting that Interstate 4 is on a list of the most dangerous roads in Florida because it earned the nickname the “Haunted Highway.” According to Teletrac, Interstate 4 was the most dangerous because 1.41 people died in car collisions per mile between 2010 and 2015. However, one section of the highway is deadlier than the others. Between 2016 and 2019, 150 people died on the section that stretches from Lakeland to Orlando, and this amounts to one fatality per mile on this one stretch of road.
Interstate 95 Express Lane
Many motorists use this express lane as a way to escape the traffic on the regular freeway. The express lane has barriers that were meant to prevent this behavior, but they are not effective at performing the job. This “lane diving” makes the area more dangerous for everyone.
The Florida Highway Patrol recorded 12,192 crashes in the express lanes. The additional poles the Florida Department of Transportation put up in this location did not do anything to prevent lane divers from continuing to engage in this risky behavior.
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 crosses through eight states and stretches for 2,460 miles. This makes it one of the longest highways in the United States. In addition to being long, it is also dangerous because crossover crashes occur a lot on Interstate 10. This is when a motorist changes lanes unexpectedly. Because Interstate 10 does not have barriers that prevent motorists from making these types of lane changes, many fatal collisions occurred in these locations.
Because Interstate 10 is a long highway, it is a highway that has a lot of long-distance travelers. When people are traveling long distances, they are often subject to being fatigued. Distracted drivers on top of tired drivers lead to numerous accidents on the road.
Miami-Dade County Roads
A total of 2.7 million people live in Miami-Dade County, making it Florida’s most populated county. They also have the highest number of fatalities due to car collisions. From 2013 to 2015, there were 369 fatalities in this county on road sections that only span 101.93 miles long.
Highly populated areas in this location have a large number of fatalities due to car crashes, but the disadvantaged Little River region has just as many car crash deaths. Studies demonstrated that car accidents often occur in less advantaged neighborhoods because the roads are not as safely designed as in more affluent neighborhoods, and pedestrians do not receive as much guidance from safety officials.
Pinellas County Roads
The population of Pinellas County is not high, but its fatalities due to car collisions are. On just 16.21 miles of road, 74 people lost their lives in car collisions. This amounts to approximately one fatality per mile more than those that occurred in Miami-Dade County. U.S. Route 19 is the main reason that so many fatalities occur in Pinellas County.
