America’s Most Dangerous Roads

Not all highways are created equal though. You may find some roads quite twisty and perilous. Have we awakened your curiosity? Keep on reading then to learn about America’s most dangerous roads.

Highway 2, Montana

Previously a part of U.S. Route 10, Highway 2 in Montana extends from Butte to Three Forks. It also has the reputation of one of the most dangerous roads in the United States. Traveling on Highway 2 you will experience long stretches of road that encourage speeding. No wonder, many drivers find it quite tempting to see how fast their car can drive. Therefore, most accidents on this highway are due to speeding and reckless driving. According to the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota, Montana’s Route 2 has one of the highest fatality rates in the U.S.

Also, the long distances between towns mean that, in case of an accident, the response time of the emergency services will take longer. It can take as much as 80 minutes for help to get to the crash site, and the nearest hospital can be hundreds of miles away.

Dalton Highway, Alaska

Luckily, unless you have to drive through Alaska, you won’t have to pass through this dangerous road. The highway received its name after Alaskan engineer James Dalton. It also goes by the name of North Slope Haul Road.

Truck drivers who frequently travel on this route have come up with their own set of names for various stretches of this 414-mile road. Oil Spill Hill, Two and a Half Mile, Oh Shit Corner, and the Roller Coaster are just some of them. As you might expect, this highway is quite isolated. So in case of an accident, help will take a long time to arrive.

State Route 138, California

They often call this scenic highway “highway of death” and “blood highway.”  The State Route 138 in Southern California has a well-deserved reputation of one of the America’s most dangerous roads.

According to LA Times computer analysis,” over a five-year period, 56 people died, and 875 were injured–410 of them seriously – along the 38-mile stretch of California 138.”

Since 2006, various improvements have been made to the State Route 138 in the hopes to decrease the number of fatality rate. Nevertheless, this highway remains one of the most dangerous in the country.

Million Dollar Highway, Colorado

Colorado is beautiful. We all know that. But beauty can be deceitful sometimes. And the US Highway 550 is the clear evidence to that. Part of the San Juan Skyway, the interstate, also known as Million Dollar Highway, runs all the way from New Mexico to Colorado. The road that’s lined with adventure towns and ghost mining villages will take you 11000 feet above the sea level.

The weather in this area is very unpredictable; it can quickly change from bright and sunny to rainy or snowy. The drive is quite scary on rainy days and storms may cause unnerving waterfalls along the highway. The snow season starts in October.

There are a number of turns that will make you slow down to 10 miles per hour. Dangerous dropoffs, narrow lanes, hairpin curves, no shoulders, lack of guardrails will guarantee sweaty palms and heartbeat through the roof.

One of the legends says that an early traveler felt so overwhelmed by vertigo on the steep and winding stretch of the road that he said he wouldn’t travel there again even if they paid him a million dollars.

I-15 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas

According to Nevada AAA, the 180-mile stretch has more fatalities than anywhere else in the state. Half of those are due to people not wearing their seatbelts. Other culprits to highway deaths are excessive speed and alcohol impairment.

It’s a straight route in the middle of the desert where you can see for miles and miles. So people start speeding and stop paying attention, which often leads to sudden emergency braking and accidents. Wild multi-car pileups are no rare sight on this highway. The study revealed that in 15 years alone 1069 people have perished on this road.

Florida Highway 1

And the most dangerous of all is Florida’s U.S.1 which runs through east Florida down to Key West. According to Geotab, a vehicle tracking company, the highway saw more fatal crashes in the past decade than any other road in the United States. Geotab compiled data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration to come up with this conclusion.

One of the main reasons for a high number of fatalities is that the U.S. 1 is the only highway through the Florida Keys, it attracts the droves of tourists from all over the world each year. The road is mostly straight which encourages speeding. And statistics show that driving outside the legal limits is the second most common cause of all accidents.

Also, drivers traveling on the U.S.1 should pay attention to animal-crossing signs. Although hitting a wild animal is a remote possibility, it may happen. So keep your eyes peeled for crossing crocodiles.

How to stay safe on the road

If you ever happen to drive through one the America’s most dangerous roads, approach them with caution! Other drivers may not make road safety their priority, but we know you do. You want to be safe on any road. And here’s what you can do to prevent accidents.

• There is a reason, speed limits exist. Don’t go over. Especially during inclement weather.
• Avoid distractions. That includes eating, putting makeup on or doing any other type of grooming, text messaging.
• Make sure your vehicle is well maintained (brakes, tires, windshield wipers).
• At some point during your trip, you’ll be sharing the road with big rigs and other large vehicles. Remember the safety rules.

Unfortunately, sometimes no matter how prudent you are, accidents happen. Or if Murphy’s Law decides to work its magic, your car may break down, in the middle of nowhere, despite the most thorough preparation. That’s why it’s important to make sure your vehicle is equipped with an emergency preparedness kit before you hit the road.

If your car is damaged beyond quick repair and you need to send it back home, you can get in touch with us at Corsia Logistics, and we’ll do our best to pick up and deliver your vehicle wherever it needs to go. We’ve come to the rescue before. We’ll do it again. And if you are moving across the country with a car and braving roads and traffic isn’t your ideal plan, we can arrange auto transport for you anywhere within the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

To request a quote fill out the car shipping quote request form on our website or use our live chat. Browse through our Questions serction to learn more about auto transport. And if you’d rather speak to a person, one of our agents will be happy to take your call.

Of course, the highways we’ve mentioned in this post are not the only America’s most dangerous roads. Care to share your experience driving on other perilous U.S. highways? Tell us your story in the comments below!

Drive safely!

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