Dangerous roads in Rockland County: the most crash-prone routes and how to stay safe

Rockland County sits in New York’s Hudson Valley, and if you drive here regularly, you already know the roads feel like they’re losing a slow war against traffic. I-87, Route 59, Route 202, Route 45, and the Palisades Interstate Parkway were all built decades ago for far fewer cars than use them today. Lanes are narrow. Shoulders are thin or missing entirely. Collisions have climbed alongside population growth, and the same intersections keep showing up in crash reports.

I-87 ranks among the top 5 most dangerous roads in New York State. Route 59 runs through crash-prone zones across 4 municipalities. Knowing which roads are worst — and why — can help you make better decisions about when and how you travel these corridors.

Why are Rockland County roads so dangerous?

The short answer: too many vehicles on infrastructure that was never built for this volume.

I-87 (the New York State Thruway) is perpetually congested, and that congestion raises accident risk across the entire corridor. Route 59 runs through dense commercial stretches with constant turning traffic and problem intersections in 4 separate municipalities.

Road design makes things worse at nearly every turn. Missing shoulders leave no margin for error. Outdated interchange layouts confuse drivers into last-second lane changes. Narrow lanes force cars and trucks into tight proximity. These aren’t isolated trouble spots — they’re systemic.

Distracted driving and speeding are constant factors on I-87 and local routes alike. And the danger goes well beyond car-on-car collisions. According to a 2025 analysis of New York bicycle accident statistics by the Bicycle Accident Lawyers Group, distracted driving alone injured 1,544 cyclists in New York City in 2024, and 49 cyclists were killed statewide in 2023. Cyclist fatalities across the country have risen 75% since 2010.

In a county with no dedicated bike lanes and deteriorating shoulders, those numbers should worry anyone sharing the road on foot or on two wheels. Winter adds another layer — heavy snowfall, ice, and poor visibility hit the Parkway’s elevated stretches and the Thruway hard, turning routine commutes into genuinely risky trips.

The most dangerous roads and intersections in Rockland County

Each of Rockland County’s worst corridors has its own set of problems. Here’s what you’re dealing with on each one.

Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway)

I-87 through Rockland County is one of the state’s most dangerous highway segments. The Thruway connects New York City to the Canadian border, and the county’s stretches are among the most crash-prone anywhere on the route.

What makes this stretch so bad:

• Heavy commuter congestion during rush hours, with volume that far exceeds the road’s original design capacity
• Narrow lanes and limited or missing shoulders, leaving no buffer when something goes wrong
• Commercial freight trucks mixed in with passenger cars, needing far more stopping distance than the traffic around them
• Confusing interchange signage that leads to last-second lane changes, causing rear-end and sideswipe collisions
• Persistent cell phone use near Ramapo, where stop-and-go traffic tempts drivers into checking their phones at the worst moments

Winter raises the stakes. Ice and snow catch drivers at highway speeds, and without proper tires, a routine commute turns dangerous fast. Law enforcement runs increased patrols along this stretch, but the structural problems — lane width, shoulder gaps, interchange design — aren’t going anywhere.

Route 59: Ramapo, Clarkstown, Spring Valley, and Airmont

Route 59 is a heavily trafficked east-west corridor that crosses through four municipalities, racking up high crash rates at multiple intersections along the way. The problem looks different in each area:

• Ramapo — The worst stretch along the corridor. Commercial vehicles and commuter cars compete for space at intersections that weren’t designed for today’s traffic.
• Spring Valley — Heavy foot traffic and dense commercial driveways create conflict points every few hundred feet. The Route 59/Airmont Road intersection generates frequent collision reports for both vehicles and pedestrians.
• Clarkstown (near Thruway exits) — Unfamiliar drivers make sudden lane changes in confusing merge zones close to Thruway on/off ramps.
• Chestnut Ridge (Route 45/Route 59 junction) — One of the county’s worst intersections. Poor sight lines plus heavy cross-traffic make it consistently dangerous.

Route 59 consistently appears in DOT Five Percent Reports, which flag the top 5% of road segments by crash rate statewide.

Route 202 and Palisades Interstate Parkway near Haverstraw

Route 202 has dangerous stretches in Haverstraw and near the Palisades Parkway, where weather and complex interchanges push crash rates higher. The intersection of Route 202 and the Palisades Parkway is a known crash hotspot — confusing merges plus seasonal ice lead to multi-vehicle collisions, especially during morning commutes when frost hasn’t cleared.

The Parkway’s elevated stretches through wooded terrain collect ice and lose visibility faster than surrounding roads. Snow lingers on shaded sections well after it melts elsewhere. The Route 202/Route 45 intersection adds another problem nearby. If you’re driving these routes between November and March, slow down in shaded sections and increase your following distance.

Route 45 in Chestnut Ridge

Route 45 has particularly bad intersections in Chestnut Ridge, especially its junction with Route 59. Sight lines are poor, cross-traffic is heavy, and the intersection design hasn’t kept pace with traffic growth. There are no turn signals, so drivers have to judge gaps on their own — and they misjudge often enough to land this corridor in DOT Five Percent Reports. Vehicles approaching from side streets face limited visibility due to terrain and overgrowth, leaving little time to react when oncoming traffic is faster than expected. Rockland County has other hazardous intersections beyond these major routes — the DOT reports are worth reviewing if you commute through the county regularly.

What causes crashes on Rockland County roads?

The causes fall into two categories: driver behavior and road/weather conditions.

Speeding, distracted driving, and aggressive behavior

Distracted driving — usually cell phone use — is the single biggest behavioral factor on Rockland County’s busiest roads. At 65 mph, a few seconds of inattention covers nearly 100 feet. Speeding is widespread on the Thruway, where commuters push limits on daily trips. Tailgating and reckless lane changes complete the picture. On roads with narrow lanes and missing shoulders, there’s zero room for any of it.

Weather and road conditions

Winter weather is the biggest environmental factor, and it hits I-87 and the Palisades Interstate Parkway hardest. The specific hazards:

• Ice forms on elevated stretches faster than road crews can treat them, creating black-ice conditions that are nearly impossible to spot
• Potholes and deteriorating pavement cause tire blowouts or sudden swerves at highway speeds
• The county’s hilly terrain makes all of these conditions worse than they’d be on flat ground
• Limited public transit means more cars get pushed onto roads already well past capacity

What to do after a crash on a Rockland County road

If you’ve been in a crash on one of these roads, there are deadlines that matter:

• 3 years — New York State’s general statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim from the date of injury
• 90 days — The window to notify a government agency if their negligence played a role (poor road maintenance, missing signage, design defects). Miss this and you may lose your ability to recover compensation entirely.

Compensation can cover medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. An attorney can help gather evidence that tends to disappear quickly: witness statements, surveillance footage, accident site conditions. The strength of your case depends on what gets collected in the first days and weeks. If you or someone you know has been hurt on a Rockland County road, talk to a personal injury attorney sooner rather than later.