This Florida county is the deadliest for traffic deaths: report

Distracted driving crashes on the rise in Florida

As part of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Florida Highway Patrol is highlighting the dangers of not paying attention behind the wheel.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - A recent report from a car shipping company has ranked the deadliest counties in the U.S. when it comes to deaths from traffic-related incidents. One Florida county stands out among the rest – Volusia County.

"One person in the U.S. is killed in a car accident every 12 minutes. With roughly forty thousand deaths caused every year by traffic accidents, which areas of the country have seen higher rates of fatal car accidents than others? The Convoy Car Shipping team sought out the U.S. counties with the highest rate of traffic fatalities between 2017 and 2022 using data from the Fatalities Analysis Reporting System (FARS)," Convoy Car Shipping said about its report.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that speeding is the No. 1 cause of deadly car accidents. It accounts for nearly a third of all deadly car crashes.

Distracted driving crashes on the rise in Florida, troopers say

Volusia County is the most dangerous county in the United States for traffic fatalities, according to the report. The report, which uses data from 2017-2021, divides the deadliest counties by population, and the Central Florida county home to Daytona Beach is considered the most dangerous "large county" on the list.

On the same list, which ranks the deadliest counties in the U.S. with a population of 500,000 people or more are several other Florida counties, including Polk County, Pasco County and Duval County, which came in at No. 4, 5 and 6, respectively.

3 hurt after Humvee flips over on Interstate 4 in Seminole County

Data shows that nearly 650 people died in car accidents in Volusia County from 2017 to 2021. Eighty-two of those deaths happened on U.S. Highway 1, which is regarded as the deadliest road in the county, according to the report.

Here's a look at the deadliest counties in the U.S. for traffic fatalities for populations of 500,000 or more, according to Convoy Car Shipping: