America’s highways are becoming more congested as a result of the reopening economy, and Teletrac Navman has ranked the most dangerous highways in the country by assessing four years of fatality rates over certain stretches of highway, and calculating the number of vehicle-related deaths per mile.
Interstate-4 in Florida—specifically the 132.2 miles connecting Tampa to Daytona Beach—is the only roadway in the report averaging more than one fatality per mile. From 2016 to 2019, 150 people were killed there in collisions, including 11 in Orlando alone, making it the deadliest highway in America for the second time in a row. In 2015, it held the same distinction with 165 reported fatalities, in a five-year survey.
Interstates-45, 192 and 17 in Texas, Florida and Arizona, respectively, each held their ranks as the second, third and fourth deadliest highways since 2015, the new report found. Ten highways fell from the top 25, notably I-84 from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts, which plunged 51 places—the biggest statistical improvement in the study. Additionally, I-78 from Pennsylvania to New York City, which had been in the top 10, dropped 30 places in the second-biggest statistical improvement in the study. Two of the longest highways in the nation, US-1 and I-40, dropped from the list.
“There have been significant technological improvements to automobiles, greater vehicle and driver connectivity and heightened awareness around safety standards, but we continue to see significant road fatalities,” said Ben Williams, director of marketing, digital and analytics for Teletrac Navman. “This study highlights the need for all drivers—passenger and commercial—to continue to stay vigilant to protect people on the roads.”
The Teletrac Navman report, which pulls from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), also analyzes the main types of collisions and where along each stretch of road the most lives were lost.
The full list of America’s Deadliest Roads are as follows:
- I-4, Tampa, FL - Daytona Beach, FL
- I-45, Galveston, TX - Dallas, TX
- US-192, Four Corners, FL - Indialantic, FL
- I-17, Phoenix, AZ - Flagstaff, AZ
- US-92, US-92, St. Petersburg, FL - Daytona Beach, FL
- I-12, Baton Rouge, LA - Slidell, LA
- I-30, Aledo, TX - North Little Rock, AR
- 1-95, Miami, FL - Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing
- I-19, Nogales, AZ - Tucson, AZ
- 1-85, Montgomery, AL - Petersburg, VA
- I-5, San Ysidro, CA - Blaine, WA
- 1-10, Santa Monica, CA - Jacksonville, FL
- 1-20, Scroggins Draw, TX - Florence, SC
- I-35W, Hillsboro, TX - Denton, TX
- I-24, Pulleys Mill, IL - East Ridge, TN
- I-75, Miami Lakes, FL - Sault Ste. Marie, MI
- I-83, Baltimore, MD - Progress, PA
- I-26, Kingsport, TN - Charleston, SC
- I-35E, Hillsboro, TX - Denton, TX
- US-199, Crescent City, CA - Grants Pass, OR
- I-65, Mobile, AL - Gary, IN
- US-17, Punta Gorda, FL - Winchester, VA
- US-11W, Knoxville, TN - Bristol, VA
- US-175, Dallas, TX - Jacksonville, FL
- I-66, Strasburg, VA - Arlington, VA
“The safety of our customers and those they share the roads with is the paramount objective of our brand of telematics solutions,” said Nick Jones, president of Teletrac Navman. “The number of fatalities on America’s highways is something that we all can have impact, by assessing our driving behaviors and taking steps to be safer behind the wheel.”