The danger on Interstate-4 is nothing new, 10 years ago a 70-car pileup killed four people and sent dozens more to the hospital.
A study out last fall by the CPS tracking company, Teletrac Navman, shows 165 people were killed in accidents on the interstate. The study names I-4 the deadliest highway in the country.
The Florida Highway Patrol knows it is a problem.
“We get out there and we do out patrolling we try to interdict speeders, drunk drivers, distracted drivers people that are driving aggressively,” said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Steve Gaskins.
But is that enough? 8 on Your Side pulled the numbers for I-4 in Hillsborough and Polk counties.
January 1, 2017- May 1, 2017
I-4 had 352 total crashes. Of those, 6 involved serious injury and 5 were fatal.
January 1, 2018 – May 1, 2019
I-4 had 324 total crashes. Of those, 4 involved serious injury and 2 were fatal.
That is a decrease of 8 percent. However, just days after we pulled the numbers a 22-year-old man was killed in a hit-and-run on I-4 in Polk County.
According to federal data, I-4 has 1.25 deadly accidents every mile.
8 On Your Side’s Amanda Ciavarri took that concern to FHP. “With the numbers basically the same the last two years, can FHP do more?” Amanda asked.
“There is only so much law enforcement can do. It is a team effort by everyone there on the roadways, OK. i have one trooper forever number of miles and I have millions of people driving at the time. There is only so much we can do. That’s why the education component is so important. I need people to drive in a more safe manor so they can get there safe,” said Sgt. Gaskins.