The most dangerous interstates for truckers: No. 2 — I-95

Interstate 95 corridor. (Image: Wikimedia)

I-95 is the main interstate highway along the U.S. East Coast, stretching from south Florida to the Houlton-Woodstock Border Crossing on the Maine-Canada border. The highway largely parallels the Atlantic coast and U.S. Highway 1, except for the portion between Savannah, Georgia, and Washington, D.C., which follows a more direct inland route. Major cities connected by I-95 include Miami and Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah; Richmond, Virgina; Washington;  Baltimore; Philadelphia; New York City; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston.

I-95 is one of the oldest routes of the Interstate Highway System. With a length of 1,908 miles, it’s the longest north-south interstate and the sixth-longest interstate overall. It passes through 15 states, more than any other interstate.

One of the worst multi-vehicle accidents in U.S. history happened on I-95 in Stafford County, Virginia. More than 130 vehicles slammed into each other during heavy snowfall on the morning of Feb. 22, 2001, resulting in 100 injured people and one death.

The accident scene was more than 3 miles long and left dozens of drivers stranded. As the cars continued to pile up, many drivers left their vehicles to find shelter, trying to avoid being injured by flying debris as vehicles collided. Due to the severity of the incident, the southbound lanes of I-95 were closed until 9 p.m. that night, causing traffic to back up over 12 miles.

Truckers can keep track of real-time traffic on I-95 here. No. 1 on the list of most dangerous interstates will be revealed Friday.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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