Watch Out For Tacoma’s Deadliest Stretch Of Highway

There are several roads in Washington state that can be very frightening to drive on and a few bridges as well. Highway 101 near Forks, WA I find especially frightening when you've got oncoming traffic. It's a beautiful drive, but if I'm driving down this highway and I see a logging truck coming in the other direction at 55 to 60 miles an hour, That's a scary feeling.  

My first experience driving on the highway was near Forks, WA. On 101. I was 14 years old throwing hay bales for my Aunt Jesse. She was leasing a field near Forks and the ranch hand that was supposed to be driving the truck was not well, (He liked to have a few drinks in the afternoon) and was not able to drive. Me being a gullible 14-year-old I told him sure; I can do it. It was a terrifying experience. 

But there is a highway in Washington state that nobody is particularly frightened to drive, but they should be. 

According to msn.com,
‘The Tacoma area has the deadliest 10-mile stretch of highway in Washington, according to a new report.
The section of Interstate 5 between South 38th Street and State Route 18 saw 22 fatal crashes between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis published by Seattle Injury Law. Twenty-five people died in those wrecks, per the report.’ 

That and one other section of I-5 has turned out to be extremely dangerous because of how busy it is, and the speed that everybody drives. (It seems like nobody is driving under 65. MPH, more like 75) Add to that the amount of merging and lane changing that takes place in that area and if you're not paying attention, you're going to get into an accident. 

Basically, you can count on any stretch of I-5 that's near a large metropolitan area. With lots of merging and lane changes it is going to be more dangerous. Near Seattle, Tacoma, Even Olympia and Bellingham, you need to be careful. 

The Washington State Highway Department is actually trying to take steps to slow people down by putting speed cameras in some of those areas. 

There are other dangerous sections of Washington State Highway on Interstate 205, Interstate 405, and I-90. They all have one thing in common. Lots of traffic, high speeds and lots of lane changes are necessary. All of these dangerous sections of highways are all in Western Washington. 

I know it's a pain when you're driving these highways to maintain the speed limit and you look like a idiot with everybody else passing you. But to quote the cliche, speed kills.

Tacoma has WA's deadliest 10-mile stretch of highway, report says. Where is it?
[Study] The Deadliest Road Stretches in Washington
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) | NHTSA