With summer road trips on the rise, new crash data reveals Florida is home to three of the ten most dangerous roads in the US for warm-weather travel.
Numbers by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s FARS, which stands for Fatality Analysis Reporting System, reveal which highways to avoid and why evening drives may be riskier than you think.
Florida’s Summer Danger Zones:
US-19 (Pinellas County, FL)
Located along Florida’s Gulf Coast, this busy stretch of US-19 is a major artery for beachgoers and tourists, making it one of the deadliest summer highways in the state. From 2019 to 2023, the road saw 39 summer crashes and 41 fatalities, largely due to high traffic volume, intersection density, and a mix of local and tourist drivers unfamiliar with the area.
US-19 (Pasco County, FL) and US-1 (Brevard County, FL)
These two highways also rank in the nation’s top ten most dangerous summer roads. With high-speed zones, numerous access points, and heavy seasonal traffic, they have become consistent hotspots for fatal crashes during peak travel months. Combined, they account for dozens of summer fatalities over the past five years.
I-95 (Palm Beach County, FL)
A major north-south corridor through one of the state’s most populous counties, this section of I-95 recorded 25 summer fatalities between 2019 and 2023. The combination of high-speed travel, congestion, and frequent lane changes makes this route especially hazardous during vacation season.
The top causes are careless driving, improper lane usage, failure to yield, and fixed-object collisions (e.g., trees, utility poles, ditches).
That’s especially relevant on roads like US-19 or I-95, where local governments have long been aware of elevated crash risks.
Law firm Osborne & Francis told Florida Daily that most of the car accidents they investigate occur in clear daylight. The primary cause is driver error, not weather.
