Georgia Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where Georgia’s Traffic Deaths Happen

Georgia lost 1,403 people on its roads in 2024, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety’s October 2026 count, which uses federal FARS data. That was down 13% from 1,610 the year before, and NHTSA’s early estimate for 2025 is lower again, at 1,307. The same GOHS report shows where the danger sits: 632 of the 2024 deaths, about 45%, came from vehicles leaving the road, and pedestrians made up about one in five.

State highways carry a lot of the weight. GDOT’s 2024 safety report puts the five-year average at about 1,093 deaths a year on state-maintained highways, roughly two of every three deaths. By the Georgia Strategic Highway Safety Plan‘s count, those highways are only about 15% of Georgia’s public road miles. The 2025 to 2029 plan targets pedestrians, motorcyclists, impaired driving, unbelted occupants, and intersection and roadway departure crashes.

A Closer Look at Georgia’s High-Risk Corridors

These are the roads Georgia drivers already complain about. Here’s what makes each one tricky, with figures from GDOT, GOHS or a local safety plan wherever one has been published.

1. Interstate 285 (The Perimeter): Around Atlanta

I-285 loops about 64 miles around Atlanta through Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Clayton counties, and it’s where through trucks, airport traffic and commuters all mix. Trouble builds at the big interchanges: I-20 on the west side at exit 10 and the east side at exit 46, Camp Creek Parkway in East Point at exit 2, and I-675 near Conley at exit 52.

Drivers crossing four or five lanes to reach an exit cut people off, and rear-end chains start when traffic stops cold near the airport or at Spaghetti Junction. Across Georgia, interstates average about 258 deaths a year, and about 193 of those are on urban interstates like this one, per GDOT’s 2024 report to the Federal Highway Administration.

2. Interstate 75: Kennesaw to Macon

I-75 runs straight through the middle of the state, from the Cobb County suburbs around Kennesaw, through downtown Atlanta and Henry County, to Macon and on toward Florida. North of the city it jams twice a day. South of Atlanta it’s a freight and vacation highway where semis and RVs share the lanes with drivers doing 80.

Near Macon, GDOT’s 2024 safety report lists 7.5 miles of cable barrier at spots on I-75 and I-475 in Bibb and Monroe counties among its federally funded safety projects. Holiday weekends and work zones add to it.

3. Interstate 85: Newnan to Gwinnett County

I-85 enters Georgia near West Point, passes LaGrange and Newnan, cuts through Atlanta and then heads up through Gwinnett County toward South Carolina. In Gwinnett, exits like Pleasant Hill Road by Gwinnett Place Mall (exit 104) pack shopping traffic onto the ramps.

Down in Coweta County, exit 47 is where State Route 34 (Bullsboro Drive) meets I-85 on the east side of Newnan. Bullsboro is lined with stores and restaurants, so drivers coming off the highway land straight in turning traffic. Our Newnan car accident guide covers the local roads and how to get a Newnan police report.

4. Buford Highway (SR 13): Atlanta to Duluth

Buford Highway runs northeast from the edge of Midtown through Brookhaven, Chamblee and Doraville into Gwinnett County, where it runs on through Norcross and Duluth. It’s famous for its immigrant-owned restaurants, and for long gaps between crosswalks that leave people walking across five lanes to reach bus stops.

GDOT’s Pedestrian Safety Action Plan listed the stretch from I-85 to Bragg Street among its statewide focus corridors, with 7 pedestrians killed and 9 seriously injured from 2011 to 2015. In early 2023, WABE reported that GDOT figures show about seven pedestrian incidents a year on Buford Highway, and a quarter of them have been fatal.

5. Georgia 400 (U.S. 19): Atlanta to Cumming

GA 400 starts at I-85 in Buckhead and runs north through Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta and Milton to Cumming, with U.S. 19 sharing the road north of I-285. At rush hour traffic drops from highway speed to a crawl, and rear-end crashes pile up at Alpharetta exits like Mansell Road (exit 8).

The surface roads feeding it add to the load. In Cumming, SR 20 crosses GA 400, and the intersections on either side fill with drivers heading to Lake Lanier and the shopping centers off the highway.

6. Memorial Drive (SR 154 and SR 10): Atlanta to Stone Mountain

Memorial Drive runs east from downtown Atlanta through DeKalb County, past Decatur, Avondale Estates and Clarkston, and ends at U.S. 78, the Stone Mountain Freeway. In DeKalb it’s a wide road, posted at 45 mph on the stretch GDOT studied, lined with apartments, bus stops and strip centers, and it’s a long walk between signals.

GDOT’s pedestrian plan listed Memorial Drive from Line Street to Ladonna Drive as a focus corridor, with 4 pedestrians killed and 6 seriously injured from 2011 to 2015. A 2025 report by the advocacy group Propel ATL found Memorial Drive, Covington Highway and Tara Boulevard had the most traffic deaths across Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties from 2019 to 2023, Axios Atlanta reported.

7. I-16 and I-95 Interchange: Savannah

West of Savannah, I-16 and I-95 cross in a junction that carries port trucks, beach-bound travelers and drivers headed to Florida. The City of Savannah’s Vision Zero plan lists I-95, I-16 and I-516 among the city’s high fatality corridors.

GDOT’s 16@95 projects, which were wrapping up in 2025, rebuild the interchange, replacing two loop ramps with turbine-style ramps and widening I-16 to three lanes each way between I-95 and I-516.

More High-Crash Locations Across Georgia

The interstates aren’t the whole story. These are the streets and intersections in Atlanta, Savannah and Augusta with published figures.

Several of these streets are being reworked. Atlanta’s $8 million Juniper Street project trades a traffic lane for a protected bike lane and adds wider sidewalks, safer crossings and better signals. On Buford Highway, GDOT’s safety project from Afton Lane to Clairmont Terrace in Brookhaven adds a raised median, pedestrian refuge islands, sidewalks and lighting. In Savannah, the city’s Vision Zero plan counted 92 traffic deaths and 709 serious injuries from 2016 to 2021, and it names Abercorn Street, Ogeechee Road, Victory Drive and Dean Forest Road among its high fatality corridors.

How to Stay Safe on Georgia’s Most Dangerous Roads

You don’t have to avoid these roads, just drive them knowing where the trouble is.

For Drivers:

1. Pick your lane early on the Perimeter: On I-285 and the Downtown Connector, get into your exit lane a mile or two ahead.
2. Stay on the pavement: Close to half of Georgia’s traffic deaths in 2024 involved a vehicle leaving the road. Slow down on curves and pull over if you’re getting drowsy on long stretches of I-75 or I-16.
3. Buckle up, every seat: GOHS counted 371 unrestrained vehicle occupants killed in Georgia in 2024. A seat belt is the cheapest safety upgrade there is.
4. Watch for walkers after dark: On roads like Buford Highway, Memorial Drive and Tara Boulevard, people cross between bus stops far from a signal. Slow down near stops and shopping centers at night.
5. Give trucks room: On I-75 south of Atlanta and I-16 near the port, big rigs need far more distance to stop. Don’t linger in their blind spots.
6. Never drive impaired: In 2024, 325 Georgia traffic deaths involved a driver at or over the legal alcohol limit. Call a ride.

For Pedestrians:

1. Use signals and crosswalks: On wide roads like Buford Highway or Abercorn Street, crossing mid-block gives drivers almost no time to react, even if it means a longer walk.
2. Be visible at night: GOHS found 81% of Georgia pedestrian deaths in 2024 happened in the dark. Wear something light or reflective and carry a light.
3. Make eye contact: Don’t assume a turning driver has seen you.

For Cyclists:

1. Use protected lanes and trails: Where they exist, like the Juniper Street bike lane or the Atlanta BeltLine, use them. Where they don’t, ride predictably and as far right as is safe.
2. Light up: Run front and rear lights, even at dusk.
3. Watch intersections: Turning drivers often don’t see cyclists. Never assume a driver will yield.

General Tips:

1. Check traffic before you leave: GDOT’s 511 service or a navigation app shows crashes and closures on I-285, I-75 and GA 400 as they happen.
2. Plan for storms: Summer downpours turn Georgia interstates slick fast. Slow down and leave extra room.
3. Slow down in work zones: Big projects come and go on Georgia’s interstates. Merge early and watch for workers and stopped traffic.

What to Do If You’re Injured in a Georgia Car Accident

A bad crash on I-285, Buford Highway or Bullsboro Drive can leave you hurt and unsure what to do first. The first hours and days matter, for your health and your wallet.

1. Call 911. Even if nobody seems badly hurt, get police to the scene. They’ll write the official crash report, which is what insurers go by. If anyone is seriously injured, ask for an ambulance.
2. Get checked out. Concussions and internal injuries don’t always show up right away. Go to the ER or urgent care, and follow up with your own doctor in the days after.
3. Document the scene if you can. If it’s safe, photograph the vehicles, the damage and the license plates, plus skid marks, signs, weather and road conditions. Get witnesses’ names and phone numbers, and swap insurance information with the other driver without admitting fault.
4. Be careful with adjusters. The other driver’s insurance company may call soon after the crash. You can politely decline a recorded statement until you have your crash report and understand your options.
5. Keep everything. Medical records, bills, repair estimates, missed work, and every letter or email from an insurer.

In Georgia, the agency that answered the call has the report: city police inside city limits, and the Georgia State Patrol or the county sheriff outside them, with county police covering unincorporated Gwinnett and DeKalb. Our Georgia crash report guide explains how to get a copy in person or online.

Rather not chase down the paperwork yourself? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

Georgia Crash Hot Spot Questions

More Georgia Crash Guides

City crash guides: Newnan, GA

County accident news: Fulton County · DeKalb County · Cobb County · Chatham County · Richmond County · Coweta County · Bibb County · Hall County

Nearby states: Florida crash hot spots · South Carolina crash hot spots · Tennessee crash hot spots · Alabama crash hot spots

For the latest, crashes from around the state are posted in Georgia accident news and our recent accident alerts.