Most Dangerous Highways in Philadelphia

Pennsylvania has an interesting statistical anomaly. According to the 2021 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics report, most car accidents happened on city streets, but most deaths occurred on highways.

The most dangerous highways have some common characteristics. They usually allow vehicles to travel at high speeds. They may have winding curves and narrow shoulders. And they experience heavy use, wherein too many vehicles must fit into too few lanes.

If you’ve been injured in a highway crash in Philadelphia, PA, Contact us at Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers today at (215) 875-7030 for a free consultation with one of our experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorneys. We can help you with all types of car accident cases and insurance claims. 

How Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in Philadelphia, PA

How Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in Philadelphia, PA

Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers was established over 30 years ago to protect the legal rights of accident victims in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since the firm’s founding, our attorneys have recovered over $50 million for our clients.

Our Philadelphia car accident lawyers have over 80 years of combined legal experience. We dedicate our practice to helping injured people seek fair compensation after accidents caused by negligence and misconduct.

We provide every client:

  • Trustworthy legal representation and personalized attention
  • A free consultation to review the details of their case and explain legal options
  • A track record of securing fair and just settlements and damage awards
  • Representation from start to finish, including at trial 

A car accident can disable you from working, playing with your children, or even caring for your own needs. 

Contact Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your injuries and the compensation you can get for them.

How Many Highway Accidents Happen in Philadelphia?

If you run a query on the Pennsylvania Crash Information Tool (PCIT), you will find that Philadelphia had 10,540 total car accidents in 2021. Of these, 9,145 crashes (about 86.8%) happened on highways. 

According to the PCIT, these crashes included:

  • 1,896 accidents on interstate highways I-95, I-76, and I-676
  • 105 accidents on freeways or expressways, including sections of US-30, US-13, and US-1
  • 6,773 crashes on state highways such as PA-291, PA-3, and PA-611
  • 371 accidents on highway ramps transitioning from city streets to highways

In 2021, the severity of these highway accidents was as follows:

  • 5 fatal and 939 non-fatal injury crashes on interstate highways
  • 4 fatal and 54 non-fatal injury crashes on freeways or expressways
  • 93 fatal and 4,258 non-fatal injury accidents on state highways
  • 4 fatal and 204 non-fatal injury crashes on highway ramps

According to the PCIT, Philadelphia had 103 fatal highway crashes and 5,455 injury-only highway crashes in 2021.

Dangerous Roads in Philadelphia

Based on these crash numbers, all highways in Philadelphia are somewhat dangerous. The city’s highways average almost 29 crashes per day. Just over half of those, 15 crashes per day, injured at least one person.

The PCIT includes a mapping function that shows where these crashes happen. Based on this information, you can identify the most dangerous highways in Philadelphia.

Interstate Highways

Interstates throughout Philadelphia are dangerous, but some segments have higher crash rates. 

Some of the most dangerous areas on interstate highways include:

  • I-76 around Girard Avenue
  • I-676 between 21st Street and the Schuylkill River
  • I-676 near 8th Street
  • I-95 through Old City and Penn’s Landing

Interstate crashes often happen due to distracted driving and speeding. A distracted driver has little or no time to avoid a crash when traffic or road conditions change.

If you travel at the 55-mile-per-hour speed limit on Philadelphia’s interstates, your vehicle covers over 80 feet every second. You drive the entire length of a football field during a three-second glance at your phone.

State Highways

State highways can have intersections and cross traffic. Intersection crashes can result from:

  • Running red lights
  • Failing to yield to cross traffic
  • Turning unsafely across oncoming traffic
  • Turning unsafely into traffic from a driveway or parking lot

Some of Philadelphia’s most dangerous state highways include:

  • PA-611 between Wyoming Avenue and Allegheny Avenue
  • US-13 near Adams Avenue
  • PA-3 at 52nd Street

Heavy traffic in these locations amplifies the dangers posed by distracted, careless, or intoxicated drivers.

Highway Ramps and Interchanges

Highway ramps are almost as dangerous as highways. On interchanges, sharp curves can cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles. And impatient drivers in merge lanes at interchanges and on-ramps might fail to yield, tailgate, or make aggressive lane changes.

Off-ramps pose a different problem. Drivers might not decelerate quickly enough and hit the vehicles stopped on the off-ramp. Additionally, drivers may need to navigate around disabled vehicles trying to exit the highways.

The most dangerous interchanges and ramps in Philadelphia include:

  • Interchange of US-1 and I-76
  • Interchange of I-76 and I-676
  • Bartram Avenue/Essington Avenue exit from I-95
  • Fifth Street/Vine Street exit from I-676 at the base of Benjamin Franklin Bridge

Accidents on these ramps can lead to sideswipes or rear-end collisions.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Philadelphia Car Accident Attorneys

Highway accidents can produce serious, or even fatal, injuries due to the speeds involved. To discuss your accident and the injuries you suffered, contact Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation.