Are freeways a complete failure in terms of safety and reliablilty?

[cpzilliacus]

On city streets, there are very few fatalities, but no one is going very fast, so the chances of a fatal accident go down dramatically.  But of the road types where drivers are traveling faster than city speeds, interstate highways are most definitely the safest roads.

When vehicle miles travelled (VMT) is accounted for, the case for freeway-class roads becomes compelling.

[jeffandnicole]

Not sure about your specific area, but in other areas, the numbers would go against your assertion.  Using 2013 Minnesota data for example, the crash rate on Interstate highways is the lowest of all the roadway classes, and the fatality rate is tiny compared with other roadway classes.

I agree with what Adam has written above, and assert it holds true across the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Freeway-class roads are generally the safest roads.  Note that there are some known unsafe limited-access roads, generally with older designs and not always built to freeway standards.

Three examples are I-278 in much of New York City, I-76 in Philadelphia (Schuylkill Expressway, sometimes called the Sure-Kill for that reason) and D.C. 295 in the District of Columbia.

All are relatively old, and have segments that were designed and engineered with features that would never gain approval today. 

Even then, they are safe, and fatals are minimal - lower than some properly designed but very rural highways - because speeds tend to be low from congestion.

[Rothman]

Not sure about your specific area, but in other areas, the numbers would go against your assertion.  Using 2013 Minnesota data for example, the crash rate on Interstate highways is the lowest of all the roadway classes, and the fatality rate is tiny compared with other roadway classes.

I agree with what Adam has written above, and assert it holds true across the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Freeway-class roads are generally the safest roads.  Note that there are some known unsafe limited-access roads, generally with older designs and not always built to freeway standards.

Three examples are I-278 in much of New York City, I-76 in Philadelphia (Schuylkill Expressway, sometimes called the Sure-Kill for that reason) and D.C. 295 in the District of Columbia.

All are relatively old, and have segments that were designed and engineered with features that would never gain approval today. 

Even then, they are safe, and fatals are minimal - lower than some properly designed but very rural highways - because speeds tend to be low from congestion.

Heh.  So...perhaps we should poorly engineer freeways so they cause congestion and are therefore safer?

[jeffandnicole]

Not sure about your specific area, but in other areas, the numbers would go against your assertion.  Using 2013 Minnesota data for example, the crash rate on Interstate highways is the lowest of all the roadway classes, and the fatality rate is tiny compared with other roadway classes.

I agree with what Adam has written above, and assert it holds true across the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Freeway-class roads are generally the safest roads.  Note that there are some known unsafe limited-access roads, generally with older designs and not always built to freeway standards.

Three examples are I-278 in much of New York City, I-76 in Philadelphia (Schuylkill Expressway, sometimes called the Sure-Kill for that reason) and D.C. 295 in the District of Columbia.

All are relatively old, and have segments that were designed and engineered with features that would never gain approval today. 

Even then, they are safe, and fatals are minimal - lower than some properly designed but very rural highways - because speeds tend to be low from congestion.

Heh.  So...perhaps we should poorly engineer freeways so they cause congestion and are therefore safer?

Or crowd an area.  Take NJ for example: NJSP & NJDOT notes in many of their publications that NJ has one of the lowest fatal rates in the country because the roads are too crowded much of the time.

[hm insulators]

I first learned to drive in Hawaii and my road test was on "urban" (Lihue on Kauai is not a big town) and suburban streets (no freeways on that island), and I had to renew my driver's license once while I lived over there, and I had another eye test. When I moved from there to California, I took a written test. When I moved to Arizona, I didn't even have to take a written test; just exchanged my California driver's license for an Arizona one.