When car accidents happen, one danger often overlooked by lawyers is some problem with road maintenance or design, or what is commonly known as a "dangerous road."
Dangerous roads are a major cause of car accidents. A dangerous road can result from faulty design, faulty construction, faulty maintenance, or faulty adaptation to changing conditions.
Many fatal accidents involve a single car that runs off the road, often rolling or colliding with a fixed object. While defendants often argue that such accidents result from driver error, dangerous roads may contribute to all or part of the cause of the accident.
Dangerous road cases are problematic and expensive. The government bodies controlling the roads have strong defenses put in place by the government itself. Proving that a dangerous road caused an accident can be very challenging. Investigation of the dangerous road site and its history requires substantial attorney work, expense, and expertise. Successful cases not only benefit the client: they directly force changes in dangerous road conditions that will save lives - effect changes that might not otherwise occur at all.
Dangerous Road Conditions That Cause Accidents
Dangerous road hazards often times stem from faulty design, construction, maintenance, or failure by the government and/or a third party road construction contractor to make road changes to adapt to new conditions.
Here are some examples of each type of dangerous road condition:
- Defective Design
- Dangerous curves in road layout
- Dangerous slopes and dips in road layout
- Hazards obstructing visibility at dangerous intersections and crosswalks
- Dangerous street drop-offs such as ravines or cliffs
- Entrance and exit ramps that are dangerously short or don't allow safe merging
- Defective or missing guard rails causing dangerous street conditions, especially in construction zones
- Pavement with inadequate skid resistance
- Improper drainage that leads to dangerous street surfaces, ponding, and hydroplaning
- Parking policies that limit visibility of a dangerous intersection
- Absent, defective, or improper warning signage
- Poorly placed and dangerous highway traffic signals
- Shoulders that are not visibly distinct enough from the road.
- Defective Construction
- Failure to follow approved plans properly
- Shoddy materials
- Shoddy workmanship
Defective Maintenance
- Allowing road surfaces to become dangerous, as with potholes
- Allowing guardrails to become dangerous
- Allowing dangerous highway traffic control lights
- Allowing erosion and lowered visibility of painted markers
- Allowing signage and warnings to deteriorate or be removed
Defective Failure to Adapt
- Dangerous road subsidence (sinking)
- Dangerous road cave-ins
- Changing use patterns by pedestrians and vehicles
- Ignoring evidence that accidents keep occurring on a dangerous road
Being successful in a dangerous road accident case involves proving the government knew of a significant highway or road danger and failed to fix it. It can also mean showing that the government knew (or should have known) that a dangerous highway or road condition existed and had time to fix it, but chose not to do so. Further, third party contractors can be shown liable for failing to comply or follow roadway design plans or specifications.
The government and/or third party contractors must act reasonably to prevent Dangerous Roads and roads. The government does not have to prevent dangerous road conditions that are trivial, minor, or insignificant, but only substantial ones. A history, or lack of history, of accidents on a given road or highway may help to show whether a risk is substantial, but it is not conclusive.
Here are a few examples of Conditions Creating Dangerous Roads and Highways
· Crosswalks can create a dangerous intersection
· Inadequate visibility can create a dangerous street, especially for children
· Guardrail defects can create a dangerous highway
· Poor warning signs on dangerous curves can create a dangerous highway
· Defective banking on dangerous curves can create a dangerous highway
· Lack of a median divider can create a dangerous highway
· Placement of utility poles can create a dangerous street
· The presence of roadside hazards can create a dangerous highway
