Safety

West Virginia’s Interstate highways have saved approximately 2.400 lives in the state since 1956, based on an estimate of the number of traffic deaths that would have occurred if West Virginia did not have Interstate highways.
The fatality rate on West Virginia’s Interstate highways is approximately two-thirds (63 percent) the rate on all other roadways in the state.
The features that increase interstate safety include: a separation from other roads and rail lines, a minimum of four-lanes, gentler curves and often paved shoulders, and median barriers and rumble strips to warn drivers when they are leaving the roadway.
At 2.26 per 100 million vehicle miles, West Virginia’s traffic fatality rate on non-interstate roads is nearly 50 percent higher than the national average of 1.50.
There were 430 traffic fatalities in 2007 in West Virginia.
A total of 2,031 people died on West Virginia’s highways from 2000 through 2004. Nationwide, 76 percent of all fatal crashes occur on two-lane roads while only 14 percent of fatal crashes occur on roads with four or more lanes. In West Virginia, 64 percent of major roads, excluding the Interstate, are two lanes.