According to an article written by Ashley Halsey III in The Washington Post (click here), bad highway design and poor road conditions are a factor in more than half of the fatal automobile crashes in the United States. As reported by the Post, “[i]f it is your fate to die in an auto accident this holiday weekend, the odds are you’ll hit an ill-positioned bridge, tree or pole, or encounter some other highway hazard…”
The Post’s article looks closely at a study released yesterday (click here) by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. According to the Post, the study was funded by the Transportation Construction Coalition, which has an interest in road construction due to the clients it represents.
The graph to the left is from the Post’s article and can be viewed on its website. The graph illustrates the study’s conclusions and the costs of accidents to the US economy.
The study’s authors reviewed accident statistics derived from three different national databases and compared those statistics with medical bills and insurance payouts. This was done in order to determine the factors and costs associated with auto-crashes. The study concludes that road-related conditions were a factor in 22,000 fatalities and cost $217.5 billion each year. And, because we know that roughly 42,000 people die in traffic accidents every year, if you die on the road this weekend the odds are ‘better then not’ that bad highway conditions will have played a role (how comforting).
The study’s bottom line is that our roads and highways are not as safe as we think they are and we need billions of dollars in upgrades and improvements; points known all too well by plaintiff attorneys and accident victims nation-wide.
The Washington Post article can be read here: Highway Conditions Contribute To Over Half of Fatal Auto Crashes
Tags: San Francisco Injury Attorney Discusses Bad Highway design
