[Watch coverage from 2021 on traffic crashes along state highways in the player above.]

(WJW) — Portions of interstates running through Cleveland and Cincinnati were Ohio’s most dangerous stretches of road over the last five years.

They’re Interstate 90 in and around Cleveland in Cuyahoga County and Interstate 75 in and around Cincinnati in Hamilton County. Each saw nearly 9,000 crashes between 2018 and 2022, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol data.

Over the last five years, the state patrol reported 157,899 crashes in Cuyahoga County, 446 of which were fatal. There were 146,861 crashes in Hamilton County, 294 of which were fatal. Franklin County had the third-highest number of crashes over those five years, but more of them were fatal: 134,981 total crashes, including 538 that were fatal.

Cuyahoga and Franklin counties are among the top 50 counties with the most traffic deaths nationwide between 2016 and 2020, a new federal report shows. But despite that, all Northeast Ohio counties actually have low overall traffic fatality rates relative to their populations, the report shows.

The report also shows two Northeast Ohio cities that have some of the lowest traffic fatality rates in the country, as well as 21 cities that didn’t have any traffic deaths between 2016 and 2020.

Below are the 10 Ohio highways with the most crashes between Jan. 1, 2018, and Jan. 1, 2023, and the portions where most of those crashes occurred, according to state data. Red stars on the maps shown below indicate fatal crashes.

Interstate 75: 30,912 total crashes (113 fatal)

Most dangerous sections:

• In Hamilton County, which passes through Cincinnati (8,996 crashes)
• In Montgomery County, which passes through Dayton (6,027 crashes)

Interstate 71: 25,515 crashes (117 fatal)

Most dangerous sections:

• In Hamilton County, which passes through Cincinnati (6,339 crashes)
• In Franklin County, which passes through Columbus (5,514 crashes)

U.S. Route 20: 16,656 crashes (59 fatal)

Most dangerous sections:

• In Lake County, which passes through Painesville and Mentor (3,619 crashes)
• In Lucas County, which passes through Toledo (3,565 crashes)

Interstate 70: 16,322 crashes (77 fatal)

Most dangerous section: In Franklin County, which passes through Columbus (5,084 crashes)

U.S. Route 42: 16,144 crashes (52 fatal)

Most dangerous sections:

• In Hamilton County, which passes through Cincinnati (5,078 crashes)
• In Cuyahoga County, which passes through Cleveland (3,641 crashes)

U.S. Route 23: 13,843 crashes (65 fatal)

Most dangerous section: In Franklin County, which passes through Columbus (5,403 crashes)

Interstate 77: 13,022 crashes (50 fatal)

Most dangerous section: In Summit County, which passes through Akron (5,195 crashes)

Interstate 90: 12,688 crashes (51 fatal)

Most dangerous section: In Cuyahoga County, which passes through Cleveland (8,866 crashes)

U.S. Route 40: 12,262 crashes (69 fatal)

Most dangerous section: In Franklin County, which passes through Columbus (6,629 crashes)

State Route 4: 12,095 crashes (44 fatal)

Most dangerous section: In Butler County, which passes through Fairfield, Hamilton and Middletown (4,856 crashes)

Roadway safety in ‘crisis’

Nearly 43,000 people died on U.S. roads in 2021 — a statistic the U.S. Department of Transportation calls “unacceptable.”

“Every driver, passenger and pedestrian should be certain that they’re going to arrive at their destination safety, every time,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is quoted in the department’s February report, “Our Nation’s Roadway Safety Crisis.”

It uses National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data to show traffic crashes and fatality hot spots around the country, and visualize progress toward a goal of zero roadway deaths.

The report cites Cuyahoga and Franklin as counties with some of the most traffic deaths nationwide. Between 2016 and 2020, the average was 59 deaths per each of the 3,143 U.S. counties. During that time, Cuyahoga’s average was more than seven times higher; Franklin’s was more than eight times higher, the report shows.

The transportation department’s map highlights the vast majority of the country as “targeted” counties with high roadway fatality rates relative to their population, with the most high-fatality and high-population counties seen in the deep South and West.

But none of them are in Northeast Ohio, where all counties have high populations but low fatality rates. There are, however, three counties with both high populations and traffic death rates elsewhere in the state:

• Sandusky in Northwestern Ohio, which had 59 fatalities from 2016 to 2020, a rate of about 20 per 100,000 people
• Pickaway in Central Ohio, had 58 fatalities, a rate of nearly 20 per 100,000 people
• Ross in Southern Ohio, which had 71 fatalities, a rate of about 18 per 100,000 people

Here’s a look at NHTSA data for all of the fatal crashes reported in Northeast Ohio in 2020, showing where and when they occurred and how many people were involved or killed, among other factors:

Of Cuyahoga County’s nearly 158,000 crashes between 2018 and 2020:

• More than 22,000 involved a failure to yield
• More than 16,000 were speed-related
• More than 10,700 involved alcohol or an impaired driver
• More than 5,500 involved a distracted driver
• And in nearly 41,000 cases, someone wasn’t wearing their seatbelt

That isn’t at all surprising, said state patrol Sgt. Ray Santiago. It’s “the usual suspects,” he said.

“When we look at the severity of crashes in those situations, again, we know that when you have increased speeds, the likelihood that someone’s going to be seriously injured and killed is going to increase,” Santiago continued. “When you introduce those contributing circumstances with someone who’s not belted in — that’s just a recipe for disaster.”