By A Treasure Coast essay by Paul Janensch
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wqcs/local-wqcs-908546.mp3
Fort Pierce, FL – I was a bit spooked when I learned that Florida's 382 -mile stretch of Interstate 95 is the most dangerous highway in the U.S. Practically speaking, I don't know how else to drive north toward Orlando or south to Miami. We also use I-95 to travel between our homes in Vero Beach and Connecticut. To get down here, we drive about 2 miles to I-95, turn left, then go 12-hundred miles and turn left again on Route. 60. No GPS needed. An internet magazine called the Daily Beast analyzed government data to come up with a list of America's ten most dangerous highways. I-95 in Florida was at the top with an average of 1.73 fatal accidents per mile for the five years through 2008. I-95 is especially deadly down in Miami-Dade and Broward, where the highway is congested. But up along the Treasure Coast, I see lots of unsafe driving. There are the slow pokes, mainly seniors I suspect, who cruise in the passing lane 10 miles an hour under the speed limit, prompting other drivers to pass them on the right. Then there are the speed demons, mainly young men I suspect, who tailgate and switch lanes just to get where they are going a few minutes faster. I, of course, am a perfect driver. Going at just the right speed and in the proper lane. I bet you are, too. For 88.9 FM, this is Paul Janensch.
Treasure Coast essayist Paul Janensch was a newspaper editor who taught journalism at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.