Although human error and negligent behavior are the main causes of vehicular accidents, there’s no doubt that some roads are more dangerous than others. Their design and construction can increase the likelihood of a collision.
Some roadways, for example, contain sharp turns or blind curves. Maybe their lane dividers are faded or absent. It’s possible they’re poorly lit or lacking appropriate traffic lights or signs to help direct or caution drivers.
How much do we actually know about the rate of accidents on certain roads?
Reveal News (of The Center for Investigative Reporting) recently published an article about a Bethesda resident’s campaign to have a left-turn light installed near his home, at a reputedly dangerous intersection.
What he came up against repeatedly during his campaign was secrecy from state government organizations. They aren’t necessarily obligated to release various accident records or findings from their own studies on high-risk roads.
The lack of publicly available information can frustrate not only concerned citizens, but also victims whose accidents seem to be part of a pattern. In the aftermath of a collision, they can be left wondering how much of their accident resulted from driver behavior, and how much from the fact that a road didn’t undergo necessary upgrades.
Accidents of course can have multiple causes. For example, at the Bethesda intersection discussed in the article, one of the collisions involved three family members killed by a driver who was speeding. Although speeding was an important contributing factor, the road’s design and lack of a traffic light might have also played a role. In other situations, drivers may abide by traffic laws and still run afoul of poor road engineering, suffering a serious accident as a result.
To make judgments about the safety of a given road, many people rely on news stories and word-of-mouth, including posts on social media sites like Facebook. It would also be helpful for people to have access to more government data that could help them act with extra caution on certain roads and campaign for upgrades or redesigns.
One of the reasons to contact a reputable Maryland accident attorney is the benefit of having your attorney dig up as much information as possible about the circumstances surrounding a collision. This includes the condition of the road, and whether it had any preventable problems. An attorney can try to access records suppressed from public knowledge, or piece together available information to establish a pattern.
In the aftermath of an accident, reach out to us at 844-Take-MyCase or our website, www.844TakeMyCase.com. Also, feel free to follow us on Facebook, and leave comments on our Facebook page sharing your thoughts on road safety issues.
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