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Interstate 4 Named Most Dangerous Highway In The United States, Study Finds

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 15:20 PST, Oct 30, 2016

In a recent analysis by Everquote, Interstate 4 has been named the most dangerous highway in the United States with its increasing number of fatalities per mile.

Glenn Victor, who is with the Florida Safety Council, stated that Interstate 4 is so “dangerous and even more dangerous right now with the big I-4 Ultimate project.”

Victor added that he is not at all surprised by the analysis as he believes that distracting drivers and tourism plays a vital part in the number of deaths I-4 occur each year.

“What’s the first thing they do when they get off the plane? They rent a car that they’re not familiar with and they’re on their GPS, so they’re looking at the phone and their GPS which of course is a distraction while their driving,” Victor stated.

In the past six years, the 132.298-mile-long highway that stretches from I-275 in Tampa to I-95 at Daytona Beach has had 141 fatalities per mile, making it the most dangerous and deadliest highway in the United States.

Experts say the cause of these fatalities are the growing number of cell phone usage while driving and most drivers, who travel on Interstate 4, would concur.

The director of Texas A&M University Center for Transportation Safety, Robert Wonderlich, stated that “anything that brings attention, that says, ‘hey, maybe we ought to look at this a little closer with some more sophisticated analysis,’ is probably a good thing.”

Hundreds of social media users were not at all surprised by the recent analysis and some have even stated that the highway, which is now dubbed the deadliest highway in the United States, causes them to have severe panic attacks while traveling on Interstate 4.

Lucas Brown on Facebook wrote: “Not even remotely surprised. I barely ever drive on it, but in the handful of times that I have, I’ve seen a semi send a car spinning into the ditch, and I’ve been rear-ended (by a local, not a tourist) as traffic came screaming to a halt because there was a car on the side of the road. And everyone just slowed down for no reason.”

“It seems that the problem is mostly in how drivers have a complete lack of regard for others down here,” Brown added. “People recklessly switch lanes without signaling to get one car length ahead, forcing everyone they just cut off to slam on their brakes. Not to mention people, for some reason that escapes me, feel the need to go 10-15 over the speed limit at all times, while also checking their phones.”

“I propose that if someone causes an accident on I-4 and causes a traffic jam, everyone whose time they wasted should be allowed to smack them in the back of the head as they drive past. It only seems fair.”

Just last week, two men were killed on Interstate 4 after a 2008 Ford F-250 traveling west of the Osceola County line sideswiped another vehicle, a 2008 Hyundai, traveling in the same direction. It was later uncovered that the driver of the Ford attempted to pass the other vehicle when he accidentally sideswiped the car, causing a fatal crash.

Not long before that, a 44-year-old motorcyclist, Leonel Pena, was killed after he wasn’t paying attention and failed to negotiate a curve.

“From drivers falling asleep at the wheel to passing on the median, it’s an unending battle to stay alive,” according to ABC Action News.

Lenny Klausner, who travels often on I-4, stated that “just last week, directly in front of me, a car crashed right into a truck directly in front of them because they weren’t paying attention.”

“The only way to solve this problem is to have large fines, 5,000 dollars every time somebody is texting, me being up so high, I can clearly see the people aren’t even looking at the road, and they’re staring at their phone the whole time.”

If you would like to find out if you are a good or bad driver on Interstate 4, check out the Ever Drive app.

[Featured Image by Monticello/Shutterstock]

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