Vermont Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where Vermont Traffic Deaths Happen

Vermont’s State Highway Safety Office counted 61 traffic deaths in 2025. NHTSA’s early estimate is also 61, up from NHTSA’s 2024 count of 59 (VTrans put 2024 at 58, WCAX reported). Most deaths happen on rural roads, not in Burlington traffic, and speeding was tied to more than half of 2024’s deaths. Pedestrian deaths jumped 50% in 2025, according to a VTrans briefing to lawmakers that flagged its 2025 data as not yet final.

Chittenden County, the state’s most crowded corner, had 333 crashes that killed someone or left them seriously hurt from 2019 to 2024, 47 of them fatal. The county’s Regional Safety Action Plan found that 52% of those severe crashes happened on just 5% of its roads.

Vermont’s High-Risk Corridors, Road by Road

Vermont’s worst roads aren’t all in one place. Some are busy suburban strips around Burlington, and others are two-lane highways where one drift over the center line ends badly. Here’s what to know about each, with VTrans and regional planning figures where they’ve been published.

1. Interstate 89: Exit 12 (Williston) to Exit 14 (South Burlington)

This stretch carries commuters into Burlington, students headed to UVM and patients going to UVM Medical Center. Rear-end crashes are the classic wreck here, especially when traffic backs up off the Exit 14 ramps onto the highway.

Exit 14 is where it all comes together. A Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission study counted 349 crashes in the Exit 14 area from 2019 to 2023, with four serious injuries and no deaths. Nearly 60% happened at two spots on Williston Road (U.S. 2): the Dorset Street intersection and the stretch by Staples Plaza, both on VTrans’ High Crash Location list. The county safety plan also puts I-89 from mile 87 to mile 94.3 on its high injury network.

2. U.S. Route 7 (Shelburne Road): Shelburne to Burlington

Shelburne Road is a strip of shopping plazas, car dealers and restaurants running from Shelburne through South Burlington to the edge of Burlington. Drivers turning in and out of all those driveways, plus speed limits that change as you go, make for a lot of rear-end and turning crashes. People walk and bike along it too.

The numbers back up its reputation. The county safety plan counted 27 fatal or serious-injury crashes on Route 7 between Charlotte and Burlington from 2019 to 2024, the most of any corridor it lists. In November 2024, police said a cyclist was killed at Shelburne Road and Fayette Drive.

3. U.S. Route 7 and U.S. Route 4: Rutland

U.S. 7 runs through Rutland as Main Street. U.S. 4 joins it south of downtown, rides along with it into the city and then peels off east on Woodstock Avenue toward Killington. Both are lined with stores and side streets, so angle crashes and left-turn crashes are common, and VTrans has designated part of Woodstock Avenue a high crash area.

VTrans posts a fatal crash hotspot map under the title “Fatal Crash Hotspots 2013-2022” (the map itself doesn’t restate the years). On it, U.S. 7 through Clarendon, Rutland City and Rutland Town had 5 fatal crashes. U.S. 4 over the mountains through Killington and Bridgewater had another 5. Ski traffic and winter grades add to it.

4. U.S. Route 7 and Vermont Route 9: Bennington

U.S. 7 comes up from the Massachusetts line through Pownal into Bennington, then continues north toward Manchester. VT 9 crosses it in downtown Bennington and climbs east over the mountains toward Wilmington and Brattleboro.

The southern end of U.S. 7 stands out. VTrans’ hotspot map shows 9 fatal crashes on U.S. 7 in Bennington and Pownal over its 2013 to 2022 window. VT 9 through Woodford, the mountain stretch east of Bennington, had 4.

5. Vermont Route 105: St. Albans to the Northeast Kingdom

VT 105 runs about 93 miles across the top of the state, from St. Albans through Enosburg Falls, Richford, Newport and Island Pond to Bloomfield on the New Hampshire line. It’s a two-lane road with tight curves, narrow shoulders, fog, and moose and deer crossings. Cell service drops out in places.

A VTrans analysis counted 570 crashes on VT 105 from 2017 to mid-November 2022, including 19 fatal crashes, 14 of them in 2021 and 2022 alone. The nearly 16-mile stretch from St. Albans Town to Enosburg accounted for 47% of the fatal crashes, and Sheldon had the most serious crashes of any town on the route. Speeding, unbelted occupants and impaired drivers came up again and again.

6. U.S. Route 2 and U.S. Route 302: Burlington to Montpelier and Barre

U.S. 2 is the old road between Vermont’s largest city and its capital, running as Williston Road through South Burlington and then through Williston, Richmond, Bolton and Waterbury beside I-89. Outside the towns it’s a rural highway, and run-off-road crashes, wildlife strikes and failure to yield are the common problems.

Past Montpelier, U.S. 302 carries traffic through Berlin to Barre. On the Barre-Montpelier Road in Berlin, VTrans pointed to a history of rear-end, sideswipe and left-turn crashes. Its answer was a road diet, trading a through lane for a continuous center left-turn lane and room for bike lanes.

7. Vermont Route 108: Smugglers’ Notch

VT 108 climbs through Smugglers’ Notch between Stowe and Jeffersonville, and the top of the pass is a tangle of hairpin turns squeezed between boulders. Tractor-trailers are barred from it, and the road through the notch closes for the winter.

The bigger headache is tractor-trailers that follow their GPS and get stuck. Each one shuts the highway for a few hours or more. In 2024, VTrans added chicanes, curbs and barrels on both sides of the notch, to force oversized trucks to turn around before the pass.

8. Interstate 91: Brattleboro to White River Junction and North

I-91 runs the length of eastern Vermont along the Connecticut River, from the Massachusetts line near Brattleboro through White River Junction, where it meets I-89, and on to Canada. Long gaps between exits, freight traffic and dark rural miles invite speed. In winter, the northern stretch past St. Johnsbury gets some of the worst weather in the state.

VTrans’ hotspot map flags I-91 in Hartford and Hartland, the towns at and just south of the I-89 junction, with 4 fatal crashes in its 2013 to 2022 window.

More High-Crash Locations Across Vermont

Beyond the big corridors, VTrans and the Chittenden County planners have put numbers on specific roads and intersections. These are the ones with published figures; the VTrans fatal crash counts come from the hotspot map VTrans titles “2013-2022”.

Some of these roads are already changing. In August 2024, Rutland repainted North Main Street and Woodstock Avenue from four lanes to three, with a center turn lane and bike lanes, Vermont Public reported. At Exit 14, the county’s December 2025 study lays out medium-term options such as realigning the northbound off-ramp and adding a shared-use path in the median, and carries a compressed or diverging diamond interchange forward as long-term options.

How to Stay Safe on Vermont’s Most Dangerous Roads

You can’t avoid these roads in a state this size, but you can drive them smarter.

For Drivers:

1. Watch your speed on two-lane highways: Speeding was tied to more than half of Vermont’s traffic deaths in 2024. On roads like VT 105 and U.S. 4 over the mountains, a curve taken too fast leaves no room to recover.
2. Stay in your lane: Cross-centerline and run-off-road crashes kill people on rural Vermont roads. Put the phone away.
3. Get in the right lane early at Exit 14: Traffic backs up on Williston Road and Dorset Street. Pick your lane before the ramp, not on it.
4. Expect turning cars on commercial strips: On Shelburne Road and Rutland’s Main Street, someone is always pulling out of a driveway. Leave space.
5. Never drive impaired: More than four in ten Vermont traffic deaths in 2024 involved a driver over the legal alcohol limit.
6. Watch for moose and deer at dusk: They’re common on VT 105, U.S. 2 and I-91 in the Northeast Kingdom. Slow down where you see the yellow warning signs.

For Pedestrians:

1. Cross at signals: On wide roads like Shelburne Road and Williston Road, crossing mid-block leaves drivers almost no time to react.
2. Be seen after dark: Wear something light or reflective, especially in late fall when it gets dark early and the roads are wet.
3. Make eye contact: Don’t assume a driver has seen you. Wait until the car has fully stopped before you step out.

For Cyclists:

1. Use bike lanes and paths where they exist: Burlington’s waterfront bike path and Rutland’s new bike lanes on Woodstock Avenue keep you out of the travel lane.
2. Light up: Run lights front and back, even in daylight on shaded country roads.
3. Watch intersections and driveways: Turning drivers often don’t see cyclists. Never assume a driver will yield.

General Tips:

1. Check 511 before you go: VTrans’ 511 road conditions service shows crashes, closures and weather trouble on I-89, I-91 and the major routes.
2. Respect the Notch: If you’re in anything big, take another route around Smugglers’ Notch. VT 108 through the notch closes for the winter.
3. Buckle up, every seat: Unbelted occupants were a recurring problem in VTrans’ review of VT 105 crashes, and VTrans tracks unbelted deaths statewide.

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

A crash on I-89, Shelburne Road or a dark stretch of VT 105 can leave you hurt and unsure what to do first. What you do in the first hours and days matters, for your health and for 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.

Who has your report depends on who responded. State Police crash reports go through the Vermont DMV, and most local police departments release reports for crashes in their own towns, though South Burlington sends people to the DMV too. Our Vermont crash report guide walks through getting a copy from each.

Don’t know which department took the report, or would rather skip the paperwork? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

Vermont Crash Hot Spot Questions

More Vermont Crash Guides

County accident news: Chittenden County · Rutland County · Washington County · Bennington County · Franklin County · Addison County · Lamoille County · Windham County

Nearby states: New Hampshire crash hot spots · Massachusetts crash hot spots · New York crash hot spots

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