By Neil Schuster, president and CEO, AAMVA

The Colossus of Rhodes, a statue of the Greek god Helios, is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Today, we’re more apt to look in wonder at a colossus of roads – the large, powerful highways and streets that vex us most when we’re behind the wheel of our cars.

The Daily Beast used GPS data to determine the 75 worst commutes in the U.S. (The top five are the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles, Lunalilo Freeway in Honolulu, the Capital Beltway in Washington, DC, I-35 in Austin, and the James Lick Freeway in San Francisco.) Most people equate “worst” with “most-congested,” and on the surface (sorry for that pun), almost all of the 75 seem to suffer from too much demand for too little road capacity. However, one component of the problem you may not see in the headlines about the list is the role of safety in putting those commutes on the list. Delve into the information and it is easy to see that it is about safety as much, or more, as it is about road capacity.

A traffic reporter notes, “If there’s a car crash it can take people forever to get home,” in discussing I-95 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, one of the top 75. A trooper in Nevada said, “Some people aren't paying attention and have to take evasive action to slow down or make a quick lane change so they don't rear-end somebody," in describing the problem on a Las Vegas highway on the list. A police sergeant in Detroit notes that I-94, another commute on the list, is “flat and straight and people like to fall asleep out there." And these weren’t the only safety-related comments. The safety theme weaves itself prominently through the full list.

The list should be more appropriately named the scariest 75 commutes in the U.S.

Now a personal note. I thought about driving on DC’s Beltway (unfortunately one of the top five), particularly in terms of congestion and safety. Maybe it’s because I’m a part of the AAMVA community, but my thoughts and concerns turn more to safety than congestion when I’m on that road. I can usually see about 20 or 30 cars in my field of vision, and while I used to think about how many of them could slow me down (and which lane might prove to be the fastest), now I think about who is behind each of those wheels.

My guess is at least a few are very likely driving impaired (drunk, drugged, suffering unrealized effects of a new prescription medicine or just plain tired). Some are unlicensed (never trained and tested, possibly suspended or maybe revoked). I’m sure a few are uninsured. And I’ll bet some of the vehicles I see don’t belong on the road (Katrina-damaged and unwittingly sold as a used vehicle advertised in excellent condition).

If the 75 worst commutes were a matter of congestion alone, the solution would be straightforward – find the money to build new roads and add lanes to existing roads. But the problem isn’t that easy. There is a huge safety component at play. The solution to that is likely to be more complex. Yes, it will require some money, but it also requires research, education and awareness, enhanced enforcement, and driver testing and training. The partners and interests needed to achieve this is likely to be broader than if the solution were only about building roads. One thing is certain – the AAMVA community will be a vital part of the solution.