Penn State students headed west for spring break should proceed with caution, according to a Blair County traffic analysis report released this week.

State Route 220 from the Centre County line to Altoona -- a stretch of road oft-traveled by Penn State students heading to and from the Pittsburgh area -- has been identified as one of four problem areas for traffic crashes, cited in a report by Hollidaysburg Police Cpl. Michael J. Friedenberger.

The report looked at GPS coordinates of county crashes dating from 2004 through Feb. 28, and identified the four areas based on the concentration of accidents, he said.

Friedenberger said the shoulder of the road is narrow or almost nonexistent on that stretch of 220. Therefore, he said, drivers should make sure they leave space between themselves and the car in front of them since, should that car slow down, there is very little room to pull off to the side of road.

On Nov. 20, two Penn State graduate students were killed in a crash on Route 220 in Bedford County, just south of the area cited in the report.

Trista Martin, of Magnolia, Miss., and Kristy Murray, of Hazlehurst, Miss., were driving south on Route 220 through Bedford County when they swerved into oncoming traffic to dodge a deer before colliding with a Peterbuilt truck tractor, according to a police report.

Penn State spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz has said the incident was "a loss to the whole university."

Most accidents on that stretch of Route 220 are not necessarily because of the road, Friedenberger said. He said the problem is the number of people who tend to be going very fast on the highly traveled road.

Freidenberger said students also spend too much time on distracting devices like cell phones and iPods and not enough time on the road in front of them.

He said there will be construction on Route 220 at the Bald Eagle intersection with Interstate 99 southbound to Tyrone.

Freidenbreger said students with scheduled times to make, such as a flight out of Pittsburgh International Airport, should make sure they have sufficient time to arrive.

Trooper Jeff Petucci said the stretch of Route 220 going down into Bedford could also be a target area this weekend.

Other state problem areas named in the report are Route 1001 from Route 2012 -- formerly part of Route 22 -- to Route 36, known as Freedom Junction; Route 22 from Hollidaysburg Borough to the Huntingdon County line; and Route 3012 -- formerly part of Route 22 -- from Duncansville Borough to the Cambria County line.