As reported by The Daily Beast website, the Florida stretch of Interstate 95 is the deadliest interstate in the country based on data analyzed from 2004 through 2008. Interstate 4 ranked third in the study. This is alarming, but not surprising, that Florida has two of the deadliest interstate highways in the entire country. The study utilized data maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by taking the number of fatal accidents and dividing by the number of interstate miles within the state. According to the analysis, I-95 had 662 fatal accidents which equals 1.73 fatal crashes per mile. As for I-4, there were 209 fatal crashes on the 132-mile stretch which comes out to 1.58 fatal accidents per mile. The Orlando Sentinel reported that a spokesperson for the Florida Highway Patrol was critical of the methodology used because it did not account for the higher volume of traffic on our interstate highways compared with other states. As the FHP spokesperson stated, “You compare 95 in Florida with a road in North Dakota, and I think you’re comparing apples to oranges,” she said. “Thousands of drivers navigate that drive every day and never crash,” she said. “Unfortunately, the majority of our fatal crashes are driver error.”
Although that may be true, this study is a warning for Florida drivers. With such high numbers of fatalities on roads that most of us Central Floridians travel every day, we must heed the warning to slow down, obey traffic laws, and watch out for other motorists. I’m sure that each of these fatalities left behind family members to pick up the pieces from the devastating effects of these accidents. At Earle & Smith, I’ve represented many victims in these types of auto accidents on I-4 and I-95. Because of high speeds and a higher risk of being involved in a trucking accident, our interstate highways can be deadly, so take extra care this summer to protect yourself and your family.
For safe driving tips to help you avoid an accident, view these traffic tips provided by the Florida Safety Council.
