Fatal traffic crashes are falling across Hillsborough County, and the most serious ones are clustering on a small number of roads. Local, city and state data show the trend, and Tampa officials say they are targeting those stretches.

Hillsborough County’s September traffic safety report counts 67 fatal crashes from the start of the year through July 11. That is down about 21% from the 85 reported for the same period in 2025. Signal Four Analytics, which tracks deaths rather than crashes, shows 71 crash-related deaths and 351 serious injuries countywide as of September.

Inside Tampa city limits, the picture is worse. Signal Four data show 16 people killed and 122 seriously injured so far this year.

The city’s response centers on Vision Zero, a program that uses crash data to find the areas of greatest risk. Its stated aim is to eliminate roadway deaths and life-altering injuries while increasing “safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all,” according to the city’s website. As part of the program, Tampa designated a High Injury Network of 49 roadway segments where most deadly and life-altering crashes occur. The city’s 2023 Vision Zero Annual Report found that the network covers 24% of Tampa’s road miles but accounts for 73% of its traffic fatalities.

The network includes Hillsborough Avenue, Busch Boulevard, Nebraska Avenue, Fowler Avenue, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Kennedy Boulevard, Florida Avenue, Columbus Drive and Dale Mabry Highway. Portions of Interstate 4 and the Courtney Campbell Causeway are also part of it.

One stretch stands out. On the 8.1-mile portion of Hillsborough Avenue between North Hoover Boulevard and North 50th Street, there were 145 dangerous accidents and 33 deaths from 2014 to 2018. The same corridor recorded 40 bicycle crashes, the most of any road in the network. The second-deadliest segment is Nebraska Avenue between East Bougainvillea Avenue and East Floribraska Avenue, with 69 dangerous crashes, 14 deaths, and 26 bicycle crashes. Armenia Avenue between West Waters Avenue and Main Street recorded 48 crashes with a high number of injuries.

The city’s publicly available corridor map was posted in 2022 and relies on crash data from 2014 through 2018.

Pedestrian and bicycle safety remains a concern. Crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists rose steadily from 2018 to 2022, with deaths spiking 35% in 2021. Pedestrians account for 15% of this year’s countywide traffic fatalities through July.

City proposals to improve pedestrian safety have not always won over residents. In February, Ybor City neighbors told city officials that a traffic safety proposal fell short after a November 2025 crash that killed four people and injured 13.

Steve Brooks of Brooks Law Group said in a news release that the network’s roads are ones “Tampa residents drive every day,” and that familiarity can create “a false sense of security.”

Follow the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun on Facebook, Google, & X

St. Pete-Clearwater Sun: local St. Pete-Clearwater & Tampa Bay, FL news at PIE-Sun.com