The Washington Examiner is out with its list of the most dangerous parts of the Capital Beltway.
The I-495 loop around Washington, D.C. and some of its suburbs is one of the busiest interstates in the region and arguably in the country.
The Washington Examiner reports that gathered its data by using data the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, local transportation officials along with police in Virginia and Maryland.
As for the results: the paper says 50 of the 58 fatal accidents on Rt. 495 between 2007 and 2009 happened between the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the I-95 interchange. Of those, there were 42 accidents in Prince George's County alone.
According to the Washington Examiner:
- AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John Townsend described the Beltway as a curvy road with several flat, straight stretches that could encourage drivers to speed up.
- The western part of the Beltway going from Montgomery County, Maryland to Northern Virginia tends to be curvier which often slows down traffic. As a result, it sees fewer accidents.
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- Most fatal crashes occured between midnight and 4 a.m., involving a single car. Speeding, drunk driving, and distracted driving are leading causes of these types of accidents.
