15 of the most Dangerous Highways in America!
Maybe it's a leftover from the days when, in our covered wagons, we spread across a fresh, new country, 'cause we Americans sure do love driving. Too bad it doesn't love us. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 10 million people are involved in car accidents each year. About 40,000 of them will die.
Speeding and drunk driving are the second and third most common reasons for accidents, with distracted driving coming in at numero uno. Those "distractions" range from talking on the phone to eating to putting on makeup (yes, that's a thing). Texting while driving increases the chances you'll wipe out on the roads by a whopping 23 percent.
If that's not enough to get you to straighten up and keep your hands at "10 and 2," then consider these stretches of highway: they rank among the most dangerous in America. Is that the Grim Reaper riding shotgun?
1. INTERSTATE-285, GEORGIA
Every day, two million cars traverse this stretch of road that circles around Atlanta. Merging into this chaos is the tricky Tom Moreland Interchange, nicknamed "Spaghetti Junction": eighteen lanes, multiple levels of bridges and highways that are even more challenging when the weather turns bad. Recently, a tractor-trailer lost control on the rainy roadway, jackknifing and plowing head-on into a minivan, killing both passengers.
2. INTERSTATE-10, LOUISIANA
The I-10 runs from California to Florida, but near Baton Rouge, LA is where things turn deadly. The High Rise Bridge is a short stretch of the road running over an industrial canal, and it's so high up that ships can pass right beneath. Besides a crazily steep grade that has challenged the transmission on many cars, the on-ramp is a death trap, too: multiple-car wrecks are an almost monthly occurrence.
3. LAKE PONCHARTRAIN CAUSEWAY, LOUISIANA
It's a 24-mile long bridge that holds a Guinness World Record for the longest continuous bridge over water. Sure, it can be pretty, but that 24-miles across open water is a seriously unnerving ride. Fog is a major concern, but even without that hindrance, cars regularly plunge through the guardrails and into the water.
4. THE MILLION-DOLLAR HIGHWAY, COLORADO
It's a 12-mile stretch of Highway 550 running from Durango to Ouray, CO. The two narrow lanes that climb thousands of feet through the Red Mountain Pass are known for a steep grade, unexpected hairpin turns -- and no guardrails. If you're not the driver, contemplate the steep drop that's mere inches away. And if you need even more of a rush, this stretch of road has the highest avalanche hazard in North America.
5. INTERSTATE-95, FLORIDA
"The Sunshine State" should maybe be renamed the "Six Feet Under State" - this 382-mile stretch of interstate is recognized as the deadliest one in the U.S. Running from Miami to the Georgia border, it suffers 1.73 fatalities per mile. Crowded and constantly busy, it's also subject to some extreme weather that makes it even more fun.
6. INTERSTATE-95, CONNECTICUT
So we move a little further north, to another section of this major interstate highway. A large percentage of all the accidents that happen in the state's 100-mile stretch happen in the 8 miles around Norwalk, way higher than other CT towns along the roadway. The reason? You've got city congestion, but you've also got a lot of vision-limiting hills and curves. Recently, a tour bus rammed into a trailer-tractor, killing the driver and seriously injuring dozens of passengers.
7. DALTON HIGHWAY, ALASKA
This isolated 414-mile road stretches through some of Alaska's toughest wilderness. Big trucks carrying oil and supplies are pretty much the only vehicles tough enough to challenge the Arctic conditions -- and the crater-like potholes created. You're also battling high winds that blow rocks into your windshield. Add to that, that for 240 miles on Dalton Highway, you won't find a gas station, restaurant or anything else. Not for the fainthearted.
8. INTERSTATE-15, LOS ANGELES TO LAS VEGAS
It's 180 miles through the Mojave Desert - and some people clearly get a little loopy on their way to Sin City. Almost 1,100 folks have died over a 15-year period, and nearly half weren't wearing seat belts. Police say that all that open space has a tendency to make drivers forget just how fast they're going - a sure way to get Lady Luck to abandon you at the first rest stop.
9. INTERSTATE-10, PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA
It's miles and miles and miles of straight road. It's in the desert between Tucson and Phoenix, and it's just…boring. And long. People tend to nod off. And if that's not bad enough, the area is subject to wicked, blinding dust storms. On a single day on that highway, a dust storm killed three people and wrecked 19 vehicles.
10. HIGHWAY 2, MONTANA
Because much of the state is so remote, it has one of the highest fatality rates in America. Highway 2 crosses a wide-open section of northern Montana. Light traffic means that people are gonna be driving fast - too fast. Plus, the extreme weather conditions deteriorate the roads, creating tire-blowing potholes and more. This highway is the site of the state's worst motor-vehicle accident, when a bus carrying a high school wrestling team crashed, killing nine.
11. INTERSTATE-24, TENNESSEE
It's a piece of road so bad that Johnny Cash once sang about it. And not in a good way. The Monteagle Mountain stretch of I-24 features a super-steep grade on the way up -- and numerous runaway trucks careening down the other side. Authorities have had to create gravel beds on either side of the road for those trucks to skid into. If that's not enough white-knuckle fun, enjoy the thick mountain fog that blankets the road every morning. Experienced truckers prefer to bypass this one if they can.
12. THE RED NARROWS, HIGHWAY 6, UTAH
The cliffs and canyons along this highway are breathtakingly beautiful -which is nice, if that's the last thing that you see on the Earth. This part of Highway 6 is known for heavy truck traffic barreling down on you, unmarked lane changes, wildlife on the road and snow and ice gumming up the works. One state legislator counts 10 friends and family members who died in Highway 6 crashes. And locals have been marketing bumper stickers that read "I Drive Hwy 6- Pray for Me."
13. STATE ROUTE 138, CALIFORNIA
Well, here are some cheery nicknames: locals refer to it as "Deathtrap Highway," "Blood Alley" or "The Widowmaker." It's two wildly twisting, mountainous lanes that have seen numerous head-on collisions. In fact, it's recommended that you avoid the 138 at either dusk or dawn: the dim light makes it even more hazardous. In one five year period, this road saw 56 fatalities, including a family whose minivan went off the road and plunged into an aqueduct.
14. HIGHWAY 431, ALABAMA
It's (rightly) been nicknamed the "Highway to Hell" and ranks as America's 4th most deadly road. This 353-mile highway runs from the Alabama-Tennessee border to Dothan, AL. Along the way, drivers contend with lousy visibility, sudden lane changes leading to multiple head-on collisions, and way too many people who like to speed. The multiple white crosses dotting the roadside are testament to its reputation as an asphalt deathtrap.
15. CROSS-BRONX EXPRESSWAY, NEW YORK
Where to even begin with this one? It's one of the busiest highways in the world, mixing heavy truck traffic and passenger cars in a six-lane free-for-all. Quick merges, skinny lanes, nowhere to pull off, potholes galore, lousy lighting and folks in a big hurry: no wonder it's nicknamed the Highway of Death. One truck driver was killed when a manhole cover (a manhole cover?!) flew through his windshield.