Which Spots on the Roadways Are Most Hazardous for Drivers?
Roadways throughout New York are for the most part safe. Cities and towns generally do a good job looking after their roads, and crews are always out there treating the roads when there’s bad weather. But there are some hazardous spots you’ll encounter while driving through New York City, and these spots aren’t hazardous because the roads aren’t maintained properly. Both urban and highway driving can result in a car accident faq, and this is something you must be aware of while you travel through the boroughs. We provide most affordable car accident lawyer Ridgewood services!
And to know more about which kinds of roadways are dangerous and why, read through the sections below, where frequently asked questions about dangerous roadways are answered.
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Why Do Car Accidents Happen on Roads?
You’ll find roads in towns, cities, and rural areas, and the qualities that distinguish roads from highways are:
- Roads intersect.
- Roads are typically associated with low speed limits.
Since drivers are traveling at slower speeds on roads, you’d think accidents were less common, right? Wrong! The US Department of Transportation has consistently found that roads throughout the country are more dangerous than highways, and below are some notable reasons why roads can be treacherous:
- On roads, drivers are traveling at varying speeds and going in different directions.
- You must be vigilant constantly when traveling on roads, as there tends to be lots of interacting with other vehicles.
- Drivers are more inclined to ignore rules of the road and traffic signs, figuring there isn’t a big risk associated with doing so.
- If you’re speeding down a narrow and crowded street that isn’t designed for high-speed travel, an accident (and a bad one at that) is likely.
- Drivers are closer to one another on roads.
- A range of objects can be struck while traveling down a road, such as street lights, street signs, parked cars, fire hydrants, and mailboxes.
- On a road, you are more likely to encounter pedestrians and animals that appear suddenly.
Why Do Car Accidents Happen on Highways?
While it’s been found that highways across the country tend to be safer than roads, there are several reasons why car accidents occur on highways:
- A lot of highway accidents are caused by drunk drivers.
- Highway accidents are often caused by speeding and reckless driving.
- Road and weather conditions often lead to highway accidents.
- Passenger vehicles, trucks, and motorcycles failing to observe the rules of the road can also cause accidents.
- Driving too slowly or failing to pull over midst breaking down can lead to an accident on the highway.
Although they’re not as frequent, highway accidents tend to be more fatal, in large part because of the rate of speed vehicles are traveling at the time of impact. If your car is traveling at 70 mph and suddenly goes from 70 mph to 0, such an impact is likely to result in severe injuries or death.
Where Do Car Accidents Occur Most Often?
If you asked a random driver where they thought the most dangerous roads were, it’s likely you’d get either highways or urban roads as an answer, and both answers would be wrong. Highways and urban roads are comparatively safer when measured against rural roads, and such is what research has shown over the past couple decades. In 2004, for example, there were 25,000 deaths on rural roads, whereas there were 17,500 on urban roads. There are several reasons why accidents are more common in rural areas, including:
- A lot of drivers speed on rural roads.
- Drivers cross lanes illegally on rural roads.
- Rural roads can be strewn with debris.
- Animals are crossing rural roads all the time.
- You may be tempted to drive recklessly on urban roads, anticipating minimal law enforcement presence.
- Rural roads aren’t always maintained well.
- Bad weather conditions make traveling on rural roads treacherous.
Do More Car Accidents Happen on Roads or Highways?
Despite what’s commonly believed, highways are actually safer than urban roads, as indicated by the fact that accidents happen less on highways than they do on urban roads. The factors that make highways safer than urban roads are listed below:
- On highways, all the cars are traveling in the same direction, and most of the cars are traveling at the same speed.
- Since drivers are going in a straight line, they don’t need to make a lot of decisions.
- Anticipating the actions of other drivers is a lot easier on a highway, and you have more time to do this.
- Vehicles have more room, though this isn’t the case in heavy traffic.
- The majority of highways have clear lines and wide
- You don’t have to worry about cars unexpectedly pulling into traffic when you’re on the highway.
- Merging is much easier on the highway, mainly because you have more time to do so.
- In most cases, parallel highways will be separated by a wide median.
- Pedestrians and bicyclists aren’t on the highways, so you don’t have to worry about them.
How Often Do Blind Spots and Drives Lead to Car Accidents?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 840,000 car accidents are caused by blind spots each year, and close to 300 of these accidents result in fatalities. Blind drive accidents are a kind of blind spot accident. If you’re driving and suddenly another driver enters your blind spot after pulling or backing out of a blind drive, it’s likely an accident will ensue.
How Common Are Parking Lot Car Accidents?
The National Safety Council has consistently found that close to 20% of reported car accidents happen in parking lots, and nearly 60,000 individuals are injured as a result of a parking lot car accident every year. Parking lot car accidents usually involve pedestrians, and while such isn’t always the case, damages associated with these accidents tends to be minimal.
Are Neighborhood Car Accidents Common?
Neighborhood car accidents are also surprisingly common, and researchers have found that over 52% of car accidents occur within a 5 mile radius of drivers’ homes. Neighborhood car accidents tend to occur when drivers become too comfortable with their surrounding environment and forget that being safe is priority number one while out on the road. Distracted driving can also cause a neighborhood car accident, such as if you hit a pedestrian because you were shouting at a neighbor from out your driver-side window.
Call 1-800-HURT-511 if you’ve been involved in a car accident recently. Our car accident lawyers in Ridgewood will exhaust every option to get you the fair compensation you deserve.