5 SC highways among America’s 25 most dangerous

It’s not your imagination.

It can be a scary drive on some of South Carolina’s roads. And a recent survey ranks five major highways that run through the Palmetto State as being among the country’s 25 most dangerous highways.

Interstates 26, 85 and 95, and U.S. routes 1 and 17 were among those that made the list, according to data of fatal crashes kept by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The survey was conducted by Teletrac, a company that offers GPS fleet-tracking software.

Interstate 95

One of South Carolina’s main arteries made it to the top 5 of Teletrac’s list. I-95 came in as the fifth most dangerous, averaging a death every 1.4 miles or .703 deaths each mile. Jacksonville, Florida, was named the deadliest city on I-95 for drivers. Crashes while traffic is moving, overturned vehicles and run-ins with trees were listed among the top most common harmful events.

Interstate 26

Deaths on 1-26 average about 1 every 2 miles or .590 deaths per mile. I-26 stretches from Tennessee to Charleston. Crashes while traffic is moving, run-ins with trees and overturned vehicles topped the most common harmful events.

Interstate 20

About one person gets killed every 2 miles on I-20, which averages to .569 deaths per mile, according to Teletrac’s list. Dallas, Texas, was named the deadliest city on I-20, which spans from Texas to Florence. Crashes while traffic is moving, overturned vehicles and pedestrians on the roadway were the top most common harmful events.

Interstate 85

I-85, which primarily serves the Upstate, also made the list. About one person dies on I-85 per every 2 miles or .568 every mile. Charlotte was named the deadliest city on the roadway. Crashes while the vehicle is moving, pedestrians on the roadway and run-ins with the trees topped the list of most common harmful events.

U.S. Highway 17

Myrtle Beach was named the deadliest city for U.S. Highway 17, which starts in Virginia and ends on the west coast of Florida. About one person dies every 2 miles, averaging .432 deaths per mile. The most common harmful events included crashes while the vehicle is moving, pedestrians on the roadway and overturned vehicles.

U.S. Route 1

The country’s longest north to south road – U.S. Route 1 – makes its way through South Carolina, falling west of I-95. One person dies on the roadway about every 2 miles, averaging .414 deaths per mile. The deadliest city along U.S. Route 1 is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The most common harmful events were crashes while vehicles are moving, pedestrians and run-ins with trees.

Teletrac used NHTSA’s traffic fatality data from 2015 for this survey. Nationwide, 35,092 people were killed on the nation’s highways and interstates alone, according to the survey.

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 10:11 AM with the headline "5 SC highways among America’s 25 most dangerous."