Highway 62 is the deadliest highway in the Hi- and Low-Desert, according to an article in the Desert Sun. The newspaper studied crash reports and autopsy results from 2002 through 2012 and found that 182 people have been killed in 158 crashes on Highway 62 , and that the highway is more deadly than I-10, Highway 111, or Highway 86. According to the Desert Sun, the intersection of La Contenta and Highway 62 is the most dangerous intersection on the highway, with five people killed in crashes there over the past seven years. The paper calculated that a driver is three times more likely to die in a crash on Highway 62 than on an average California road. The Desert Sun attributes the high death toll to a lack of medians separating the lanes of traffic; the east-west orientation of the highway, which forces drivers to drive into the sun; and the high number of young male Marines stationed at the Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. Men who are 21 years and younger are the most dangerous drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Remarkably, the paper found that fewer than half of all crashes—44 percent—were due to drugs or alcohol, below the national average of 57 percent.
For the complete Desert Sun story:
http://www.desertsun.com/longform/news/investigations/2014/11/13/highway-62-deadliest/16004104/
