Rural roads in south most deadly by far.

• Position: YOUR LIFE

Rural two-lane highways are the largest single class of roads in the U.S.--and they are the deadliest, especially in the Southeast. Almost one-third of the nation's traffic fatalities occurred in just eight southeast states in a five-year period and, of those, 64% were on rural roads, according to a study by the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. Moreover, if Florida--a less rural state--is removed from the analysis, 71% of traffic fatalities in the region occurred on these highways as compared to 59% nationally.

"The most frequent crashes in the Southeast occurred on rural roads in wooded areas where people ran off the road and hit a tree," notes Karen Dixon, associate professor of civil engineering.

On rural roads, the most common contributing factor to traffic fatalities was late-night driving by tired or apparently intoxicated motorists, especially on weekends. Many of these victims are males between ages 16-25. The study found that 48.6% of the region's fatal crashes involved drivers who did not wear seat belts.

In a related finding in Georgia's report, Dixon discovered a disproportionate number of pickup trucks involved in fatal...