Fox News Reports 10 Deadliest Roadways with California Speeding Playing a Big Role

Thanks goes to Fox News for reporting on the 10 deadliest roadways in the United States*.  Dated February 2009, the report shows that, not surprisingly, the most populated state, California, had four of the top 10 roads in numbers of fatalities.  In California, speeding seems to be one of the number one factors.  Three of those top 10 were stretches of the same Interstate — I-10 in California and Arizona. What follows is the list by county: 

1) 346 deaths: I-15 in San Bernardino County, California
Ironically, many fatalities on this stretch of I-15 may be because the road is so straight and wide.

“That road will put you to sleep,” said Baker Fire Station Chief Dan Tellez, whose station deals with all the emergencies along 75 miles of the highway. “And a lot of people tend to be speeding because it's so wide and so straight.”

Alcohol also plays a role in this highway's death toll. “We get a few people driving under the influence, coming from Vegas after partying all night,” Tellez said.
An accident last week killed two people when their car crashed into water barrels lining the freeway.

2) 182 deaths: I-10 in Riverside County, California

Two people were killed and four were injured in a four-car crash here in January, after a pickup truck veered into oncoming traffic.
But don't blame the road design, local officials say.

"Most of it doesn't have to do with the road per se," said California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Chris Blondon, whose area includes part of I-10 in Riverside. "It more has to do with the drivers. Most of the crashes we see along that area are due to unsafe speeds. They're going too fast for the road conditions."

3) 178 deaths: I-10 in Maricopa County, Arizona

4) 158 deaths: I-5 in Los Angeles County, California

On Oct. 12, 2007, a speeding truck crashed into a concrete barrier in a tunnel near Santa Clarita, causing a chain reaction of crashes. Three people were killed and 26 vehicles were destroyed in an inferno that engulfed the tunnel. The fire shut down the highway for two days.

This week, a California Highway Patrol report determined that speeding was the primary cause of the accident — at least 13 of the vehicles were going over the speed limit.
However, Saia Motor Freight, the company that owned the truck that started the chain reaction, told the Los Angeles Times that poor lighting conditions in the tunnel and inadequately maintained warning signs were to blame. The California Department of Transportation said it has since improved conditions in the tunnel.

5) 153 deaths: I-45 in Harris County, Texas

6) 148 deaths: I-15 in Clark County, Nevada

7) 131 deaths: I-95 in Palm Beach County, Florida

8) 118 deaths: I-10 in Pinal County, Arizona

9) (Tied for 8) 118 deaths: I-5 in San Diego County, California

A pregnant woman was killed in January after another car clipped her vehicle while switching lanes. The offending driver will stand trial for speeding and driving recklessly.

10) 102 deaths: US-1 in Miami-Dade County, Florida

If you have found yourself with a California speeding ticket, please contact us at Fighttrafficticketsonline.com, a service provided by Ticket Busters (TicketBust.com) or 800.850.8038.

* FOXNews.com analyzed data from crash reports over the last five years (2002-2007) to determine which stretches of the nation's roads had the highest number of deadly accidents.  For full report details, visit the Fatality Analysis Reporting System site