At least according to a recent report, Florida is the home to a disproportionate share of interstates and other federal highways known for being particularly dangerous.
For instance, according to this report, the most dangerous highway in the country in terms of fatalities, Interstate 4, runs through Tampa on its way to Orlando and then Daytona Beach. Likewise, US Highway 192, which starts in Four Corners, about an hour from Tampa, also made it in to the top five most dangerous highways.
It may also come as no surprise to some Floridians that two of the country’s longer interstates, Interstate 95 and Interstate 10, were at the top of the list of the country’s 25 most dangerous highways. Interstate 95 runs through eastern Florida on its way up the Atlantic Coast, and Interstate 10 goes across the country from Jacksonville all the way to the West Coast. The most dangerous portion of Interstate 95 is reportedly the Jacksonville area on the other side of the state.
The report did not make clear exactly what makes these Florida highways so dangerous, but one can always look to the usual suspects. For instance, drunk or drugged driving, or even bad driver fatigue, can cause severe car accidents on the highways, especially when the driver gets confused and starts traveling in the wrong direction on the highway.
Likewise, distracted or inattentive driving can pose a problem. Particularly on more open stretches of these highways, a driver who is not paying attention may simply notice that traffic has slowed down or even come to a complete stop ahead of them.
In any event, someone who get hurt on one of Florida’s major highways because of another negligence has every right to ask the responsible party to pay their share of the victim’s losses. Given the oftentimes catastrophic nature of highway accidents, victims may need to exercise this right so that they can put their lives back together.