The End Of The Road: A Special Hour On Danger And The Perception Of Danger On Interstate 95

Interstate 95 runs just shy of 2,000 miles, snaking its way through virtually every major city on the east coast and, in each of those cities, producing its own breed of traffic-hell.

In Miami I-95 unceremoniously ends by dumping drivers onto US1. But just before that, on 95's final leg, the freeway becomes one of nation's busiest highways. And possibly one of the meanest. In the 90s, the Florida Highway Patrol felt the need to form a road rage task force specifically for that stretch of highway.

For the last year, WLRN in Miami has been bringing its audience stories about life on the final 87 miles of I-95 -- the stretch running from Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade County, Florida. In the culmination of that reporting project, "The End Of The Road," reporter Kenny Malone hosts a special hour of stories about danger and perceived danger on I-95.

While the three or four stories -- depending if you could the cold-open -- were intended for a South Florida audience, most of these should resonate with any audience.

The show opens on a ride-along with 15-year-old Saviana Calderon and her mom Rebeca as Savi drives for the first time on I-95. She is terrified. While there is no crash, the drive does not go particularly well.

Then we tell the story of how two street artists became public enemy number one in South Florida, and how their arrest changed graffiti culture in Miami and sent the two artists on very different paths.

Our third story, arguably the most relevant nationally, explains how Florida's response to series of tourist murders in the 1990s resulted in a U.S. Supreme Court case that put Florida in the spotlight for its cruel and unusual sentencing practices.

Finally, we dig through thousands of crash records to try and answer a very simple question: How dangerous is the experimental express lane system placed on I-95 in 2008?

While these kinds of express systems are different around the country, they are growing in popularity. Miami's was one of the first.

The hour times out to 50 minutes, 51 if you include the billboard, and is split into five segments. Hide full description

Interstate 95 runs just shy of 2,000 miles, snaking its way through virtually every major city on the east coast and, in each of those cities, producing its own breed of traffic-hell. In Miami I-95 unceremoniously ends by dumping drivers onto US1. But just before that, on 95's final leg, the freeway becomes one of nation's busiest highways. And possibly one of the meanest. In the 90s, the Florida Highway Patrol felt the need to form a road rage task force specifically for that stretch of highway. For the last year, WLRN in Miami has been bringing its audience stories about life on the final 87 miles of I-95 -- the stretch running from Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade County, Florida. In the culmination of that reporting project, "The End Of The Road," reporter Kenny Malone hosts a... Show full description