Sun-Sentinel: Florida's U.S. 1 tops list of deadliest roads in the nation. study says

Florida's U.S. 1 tops list of deadliest roads in the nation. study says

Four of the top five and six of the top ten deadliest highways in the nation are right here in Florida, according to a new study.
Wayne K. Roustan
Sun Sentinel
Another day, another study, another reminder of something most motorists may already know: We travel some of the most dangerous roads in America.

Four of the top five deadliest highways in the nation are in Florida, according to a study conducted by Geotab, a Canada-based global fleet management company.

U.S. 1 tops the list with 1,011 fatal crashes causing 1,079 deaths over the past decade. The highway runs nearly 530 miles through 13 counties along Florida’s east coast.

U.S. 41 in Tampa ranks second with 714 fatal crashes resulting in 772 deaths. U.S. 27 slots third with 529 fatal crashes causing 614 deaths and U.S. 441 (417 deadly crashes, 442 deaths) rounds out the top five at No. 5.

Other Florida highways appearing on the list include U.S. 17 from Punta Gorda to Jacksonville (ninth) and U.S. 98 from South Boulevard in West Palm Beach to the Panhandle region (10th).

The state's two main interstates — I-75 and I-95 — ranked Nos. 30 and 66, respectively, among the most deadliest highways in the country.

Deadly driving distractions

Few drivers admit it but the crash numbers don’t lie, so the Florida Highway Patrol is trying to wise-up distracted drivers.
Meanwhile, State Road 826 in Miami-Dade County, known as the Palmetto Expressway, placed third among the least deadliest highways in the country, according to the study.

The data for the study was compiled from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration statistics.

The numbers were converted to a “fatal crash rate” that was based on the number of deadly crashes per million vehicles traveled on a given highway per year.

A county-by-county breakdown was not part of the study.

The American Automobile Association in Florida has said that such studies are open to interpretation and are dependent on the formulas used to calculate the conclusions.

wkroustan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4303 or Twitter @WayneRoustan