When people think about dangerous driving, they usually think about big interstates with fast cars and lots of traffic. But a new study shows that in New York, the deadliest crashes happen more often on state highways, not interstates.

Researchers looked at more than 129,000 fatal crashes across the country. What they found is that state highways are where the most deadly crashes happen.

What the Numbers Show in New York

Over five years, New York had 5,079 fatal crashes. When you look at where those crashes happened, here is the breakdown:

State highways: 54%
Local streets: 25%
Interstates: 11%
U.S. highways: 9%

That means more than half of deadly crashes in New York happened on state highways. These are roads many of us drive on every single day.

Why State Highways Can Be Risky

State highways are busy roads where cars are moving pretty fast, but there are still traffic lights, intersections, and driveways. So you get fast traffic mixing at places where cars cross paths. That makes it easier for crashes to happen, especially if someone is distracted or rushing.

These New York Roads Had the Most Fatal Crashes

The study also looked at which roads in New York had the highest number of deadly crashes. These are the top ones:

I-87
US-9
I-495
I-90
Sunrise Highway (SR-27)
US-9W
Southern State Parkway
US-11
SR-104
Middle Country Road (SR-25)

Many of these are major routes that people use for work, school, and errands, especially on Long Island and in busy parts of the state.