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Most dangerous highway stretches for US truckers

Nearly 1,700 people lost their lives on five roads between 2010 and 2016

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

These are the top five most dangerous highway stretches in the U.S., based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (NHTSA-FARS).


Related: Scariest tunnels for truckers


US Highway 93, Arizona

U.S. Highway 93 in Mohave County, Arizona. (Google maps)

This highway covers a stretch of 200 miles in Arizona that many drivers use to travel between Las Vegas and Phoenix. More specifically, it runs from Wickenburg, Arizona, to the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge, also known as the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, near the Arizona-Nevada border.

From 2010 to 2016, 90 people died in 70 fatal crashes on this road. Most of these crashes happened in Mohave County in the far western part of Arizona, which includes the city of Kingman.


State Route 9, Oklahoma

State Route 9 in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. (Google maps)

State Route 9 spans east to west through the middle of Oklahoma, between the Arkansas state border and the Texas panhandle. At 348 miles long, it’s the second-longest state highway in Oklahoma, behind State Route 3, which is 615 miles long. Between 2010 and 2016, 60 people were killed in 50 fatal crashes on this highway. The majority occurred in Cleveland County, which includes the city of Norman.

US Highway 160, Colorado

U.S. Highway 160 in La Plata County, Colorado. (Google maps)

This 490-mile-long highway segment starts near Colorado’s border with New Mexico and ends near the Colorado-Kansas border. The majority of the 80 fatal crashes on this road fro 2010 to 2016 took place on the portion running through La Plata County, which includes the city of Durango. A total of 99 people died in those crashes.

Many locals in Colorado, as well as truckers, also know that Wolf Creek Pass on U.S. Highway 160 is dangerous. It’s a high mountain pass, located about 80 miles east of Durango, where many vehicles have crashed. The steep roads and many switchbacks make driving dicey during several months of the year due to snow and ice.


Related: Scariest tunnels for truckers



Interstate 5, California

Interstate 5 in Los Angeles County, California. (Google maps)

California has many highways that run north to south and this one goes on for almost 800 miles, stretching from Oregon to the San Ysidro crossing at the Mexican border. There were 680 fatal crashes on Interstate 5 in California between 2010 and 2016, in which 768 people were killed.

This interstate connects drivers through Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Santa Ana, Stockton and Redding, intersecting with Interstate 10 near Los Angeles and Interstate 8 near San Diego. The most dangerous portion of the highway is in Los Angeles County, where traffic volume is highest.

Interstate 10 in Harris County, Texas. (Google maps)

Interstate 10, Texas

Another highway that spans the length of a state, I-10 in Texas stretches about 877 miles from Anthony, near the New Mexico state line, to Orange, near the Louisiana border. It runs through El Paso, Houston and San Antonio. With 585 fatal crashes and a total of 676 deaths from 2010 to 2016, the section with the highest fatalities was Harris County, which includes the Houston metropolitan area.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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Nick Austin

Nick is a meteorologist with 20 years of forecasting and broadcasting experience. He was nominated for a Midsouth Emmy for his coverage during a 2008 western Tennessee tornado outbreak. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Tech. Nick is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in February 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” eight consecutive years.