Study finds Georgia's most dangerous roads are in metro Atlanta

ATLANTA - Those who drive in the metro Atlanta area know how dangerous the roads can be. A new study aims to shed light on areas that are especially dangerous to navigate, not because of infrastructure, but because of people speeding or driving under the influence.

"Driving in general is bound to have accidents," Elijah Parrish-Blair said. "In Atlanta, I think the real issue is the highway. People just need to chill out."

FOX 5 often reports about fatal car accidents in metro Atlanta and a new study from MoneyGeek finds Georgia's top five most dangerous roads are in north Georgia.

That study mapped out all fatal accidents in Georgia from 2018 to 2020 with data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and found nearly 40 percent of those crashes are from drinking, speeding or both.

"What that really points to is the behaviors behind the wheel make a really big difference," MoneyGeek's Doug Milnes said.

Researchers found the most fatal stretch of road was Moreland Avenue from S. River Industrial Blvd. to Wylie Street.

Rounding out the top five most dangerous roads according to the study are:

• Georgia Highway 85 from I-75 to Springdale Drive
• I-285 from the Bouldercrest Road exit to the I-20 interchange
• I-285 between the Camp Creek Parkway interchange and the Riverdale Road exit
• I-20 from Panola Road to Candler Road.

All of those five-mile stretches had at least 10 and as many as 13 deaths during the study period. Milnes said no entire road was worse than the other, but the top crash causes are clear.

Georgia's regional director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said there's always a simple solution.

"We as an organization support the victims who've been impacted by drunk driving," Denise Brodsky said. "We encourage anyone considering attending a party or going out for a casual drink to always plan ahead and make sure that you have a non-drinking driver and a way to get home."

In May, FOX 5 reported about the Atlanta Police Department's plan to crackdown on DUI this summer with targeted checkpoints. That means officers camp out at a specific area with a proven pattern of DUIs. Police get state approval to check every driver leaving that hot spot for a certain amount of time. They said they have ramped up that initiative this summer, especially over holiday weekends.

FOX 5 did reach out to GDOT for comment. They did not provide an official statement, although a representative did point out this study does not take into account the amount of traffic on any given road. For example, 10 fatal car accidents on a road that sees 10 cars every day is vastly different from 10 fatal accidents on a road that sees 10,000 cars a day.