Stretches of US 41 present most danger for SWFL drivers

Reporter: Lauren Sweeney
Published: Updated:

FORT MYERS, Fla. — More incapacitating injury and fatal crashes occurred on U.S. 41 during 2014 than any other stretch of roadway in Southwest Florida.

WINK News analyzed the most recent crash data available from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and found 559 crashes that resulted in incapacitating injuries or death that year.

Of those crashes, 79 occurred on some portion of U.S. 41 in Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties.

A two-mile stretch of the road in Charlotte County north of Veterans Boulevard appeared to be the densest for serious crashes, with six occurring there in one year.

Another two-mile stretch of Business U.S. 41 from just over the Edison Bridge to just north of Pine Island Road in North Fort Myers saw five serious crashes that year.

Interstate 75 had a total of 37 serious injury and fatal crashes in 2014, with a concentration at the five-mile stretch near the Bonita Beach Road and Immokalee Road exits.

A stretch of State Road 82 around Daniels Parkway down to Sunshine Boulevard in east Lee County was the scene of six serious and fatal injury crashes in 2014. In total, 26 serious crashes occurred on State Road 82 that year.

Around 10 percent of all the crashes analyzed involved a driver with a blood alcohol content above the legal limit. The most common contributing factor listed was operating a vehicle in a careless manner.

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