Make Your Commute Safer By Avoiding Risky Roads

The stats don't lie: Some roads are just plain unsafe. Okay, but which ones? Maybe that particularly twisty stretch of highway that's part of your daily commute?

That's just one of the questions answered by RiskyRoads.org, a Google Maps mashup that shows which roads and highways have the highest concentration of -- gulp -- traffic fatalities. Just type in an address and city and you'll see a map that looks like this:

The site pulls data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, then maps the concentration of fatal accidents that occur within 1,000 feet of one another. The resulting "heat map" shows the country's worst hot spots. You can click on any spot to get a pop-up window with all the details.

The morbid, gory details. I can't say this is pleasant stuff to look at, but if it helps you find a safer route to and from work every day, it's a few minutes very well spent.