I-95 In Miami Is Officially The Most Stressful Highway In The US
A recent study released by FleetLogging, a site set up to provide a comprehensive overview of the ELD, fleet management and tracking industry in the United States, I-95 in Miami was found to be the most stressful highway in the country. For its research, FleetLogging analyzed 60,000 tweets containing the word ’traffic’ to identify the most stressful driving cities in the U.S. and the U.K. A whopping 87% of stress-related tweets examined were from I-95 in Miami. According to one angry driver’s tweet, “one crash completely paralyzes traffic.” And unfortunately, there is no shortage of crashes in the county.
According to The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), of the 340,939 crashes in the state in 2020, 51,518 were in Miami-Dade County. That’s around 15% of all crashes in the State of Florida occurring in just that county. Unfortunately, 342 people lost their lives from vehicular accidents last year alone. According to the breakdown of who is most likely to suffer fatal injuries in a collision, the findings are as follows:
- There were 50 riders killed in motorcycle accidents in Miami-Dade County in 2020;
- More than 82 pedestrians lost their lives in incidents involving motorized vehicles;
- Bicycle riders are also at risk, as there were 13 people killed in bicycle accidents of the 756 crashes occurring in 2020.
Hit and run statistics also remain a huge problem in South Florida, with 17,174 total hit and run crashes causing 41 people to lose their lives.
In general, deadly motor vehicle accidents occur because of driver carelessness. The most common reasons include:
- Driving while impaired – whether drugs or alcohol, impaired driving is the leading cause of traffic accident fatalities;
- Speeding, the second-leading cause of traffic deaths;
- Driving while drowsy, which the federal government calls almost as dangerous as driving while impaired;
- Reckless driving, which can include speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, passing on the right, passing on the shoulder of the road, accelerating and braking suddenly, and even driving slowly in the left lane on the freeway.
- Failure to yield the right of way, which is responsible for about a quarter of accidents involving younger drivers but a majority of accidents among drivers 70 and older.
- Not wearing a seatbelt.
- Following too close behind tractor-trailers.
- Driving too fast for the weather conditions, as nearly a quarter of traffic accidents are weather-related.
- Distracted driving, including texting or talking on the phone, eating while driving, or even using the vehicle navigation system.