I-4 may not be the most dangerous interstate
Central Floridians were alarmed this week when a report came out that proclaimed Interstate 4 the nation’s deadliest interstate.
It turns out, however, the ranking as deadliest is a little like saying most shark attacks occur where people are swimming.
It may be true, but the truth comes up short when looking at the complete picture.
What the online service, EverQuote, said is: “The 132-mile highway connects from I-275 to I-95, and has had 1.41 fatalities per mile in the past six years, making it the most dangerous interstate in the United States.”
Transportation experts said a study based on deaths per mile puts the short, congested I-4 in the same category as a long, rural freeway.
“It’s a pretty crude instrument,” said Robert Wonderlich, director of Texas A&M’s
Center for Transportation Safety, who didn’t discount an underlying message of EverQuote’s finding.
“Anything that brings attention, that says, ‘hey, maybe we ought to look at this a little closer with some more sophisticated analysis,’ is probably a good thing,” he said.
The Federal Highway Administration hasn’t done a “most dangerous” study.
“It’s something we are considering undertaking in the months to come,” administration spokesman Neil Gaffney said.
Other experts said a legitimate way to determine most-dangerous rankings likely would be based on “exposure” data, such as fatalities per million vehicle miles traveled.
That “normalizes” data, said University of Florida professor Ruth Steiner.
University of Central Florida professor Essam Radwan said, “You have to put everybody on the same level field.”
Florida Department of Transportation officials couldn’t provide other analysis about the comparable safety of an interstate that funnels 200,000 drivers through Orlando each day.
The agency did say its current overhaul of I-4 in Orlando is “designed to improve safety and capacity on our most challenging stretch of I-4.”
Spokesman Ryan Ruffing said of the study by EverQuote, a company that compares auto insurance quotes, “I still think it’s an interesting story” because it is paired with company findings that Florida drivers are among the nation’s most distracted.