Troopers: Drivers to blame for I-4 being country's deadliest

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Whether it's overturned semis or small Cessnas making emergency landings, there's no telling what you may encounter on Interstate 4. And for local residents, it's no secret the main connector between Tampa, Orlando, and Daytona Beach can be tough to travel.

“There's always traffic, there's always construction,” complained local resident John Bockover.

“Literally every morning I’m on my way to work, it's an accident on I-4,” said resident Elijah Moore.

And there was little shock when they learned a recent study dubbed I-4 as the deadliest highway in the nation.

GPS company Teletrac Navman published research showing more than 160 people died on I-4’s 132-mile stretch from 2011 and 2015. That's 1.2 deaths per mile. Compare that to I-75, which ranks 11th on the list with a death-per-mile average of 0.59.

“Even Atlanta, their interstate system is way more congested than I-4 but I don't know, I-4 it's just a bad spot,” said Moore.

Florida Highway Patrol officials say: Don't blame the road, but focus on the drivers.

“Troopers still see a lot of the same kind of problems that we've been discussing for years,” said FHP trooper Steve Gaskins. “Talking about people driving too fast, following too closely, cutting in and out of other traffic, not using turn signals, not driving with courtesy.”

Officials argue the only way to get I-4 off such a notorious list is to stop doing the things which make driving on any road a danger.

“If I can get people to get onboard with that, to curb that behavior, those numbers, I have no doubt will decrease -- not only on I-4, but all across the state,” added Gaskins.