2 States Dominate List of Most Dangerous State Highways

In a study of the most dangerous state highways in the United States over the last five years, more than half of the top 30 could be found in Florida or California.

Texas was also heavily represented according to an analysis by iSelect while the safest state could be found far, far to the west.

Where not to drive

A car insurance comparison service, iSelect analyzed data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (a federal government database) to determine the 30 most dangerous state highways in the United States in the past five years.

SR-99 topped the list with 368 fatal crashes followed by SR-60 in Florida with 164.
In all, 10 of the top 30 could be found in California with another eight in Florida.

Texas had six while Georgia and Arizona each had two.

Louisiana and Washington each had one.

“Road safety isn’t defined by weather or road conditions alone,” iSelect general manager for general insurance Adrian Bennet said in a news release. “It ultimately depends on the behavior of drivers and staying alert to your surroundings and anticipating potential hazards, whether that’s pedestrians, other vehicles, poor visibility or changing road surfaces, is essential.”

What are the most dangerous states?

According to iSelect, neither California nor Florida scored as the most dangerous state to drive in, though.

The service combined crash risk, weather risk and road infrastructure risk to one up with a “total danger score” that determined that, and a different southern state came out on top. Mississippi led the way with a score of 56.08 thanks to a very high crash risk sore (87.55).

Texas was next in total danger score (55.24) followed by Tennessee (53.02), Wyoming (51.66) and Louisiana (51.09).

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Of those, road infrastructure score held back Texas (84.93) while the worst weather was in Louisiana (39.04 score).

“Following speed limits, taking regular breaks on long journeys, and keeping a safe distance from other vehicles can make all the difference in preventing collisions, no matter whether you’re driving in the USA, Australia or the UK,” said Bennet, whose company also analyzes those states and found the U.S. scored the worst of the three.

“Of course, many risks on the road are unpredictable and beyond a driver’s control. Comprehensive car insurance provides essential protection in the event of a collision, which is especially important for those traveling in higher-risk areas.”

What is the safest state for driving?

At the other end of the spectrum, Hawaii came out on top when it comes to least dangerous states for driving despite its sometimes troublesome weather.

Hawaii made up for that with average speed limits and minimal road density.