Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog
Defective road design can cause serious and fatal motor vehicle crashes. Motorists should expect that those charged with the design, building and maintaining of our roadways have put safety first. Each year many motorists are the victims of Boston car accidents due to poorly maintained roads.
Motorists involved in an accident that are caused by any of the following need to contact an experienced Boston personal injury lawyer.
-Dangerous road construction zone.
-Malfunctioning traffic signals.
-Poor drainage of standing water.
-Muddy shoulders.
-Poor lighting.
-Improper roadway design, including dangerous curves and ramps.
-Poorly placed utility poles and trees.
Roadways that are designed with safety in mind, allow motorists to react to changing road conditions and situations in plenty of time. If there is a sharp curve on a roadway, warning signs need to be posted and guardrails erected. When these types of things are not done the municipality or state may be held responsible for failure to design and maintain safe roadways for travelers.
Recently the Boston Channel reported on the staggering number of crashes on Route 24 between Fall River and Randolph. There have been 14 fatalities in the last 3 years on that road. Neighboring comparable roads, Interstate 95 and Route 3, have half that amount.
Law enforcement’s theory for all the crashes is that the road simply was not designed to handle the volume of traffic it gets today. The 50-year-old road design has ramps that are too short and curves that are too sharp.
AAA Exchange offers these suggestions to make our roadways safer:
-Signs: make them larger, easier to read by using reflective material and place them well ahead of the event.
-Crosswalks: mark the pavement with reflective material, make crossing countdown longer and make crosswalk buttons bigger and easier to reach.
-Left turn lanes: have a signalized intersection with a left turn lane offset, this is better than having drivers judge when it is safe to turn. Offset left-turn lanes are safer because cars traveling in the opposite direction don’t block your view.
-Stop signs: make stop signs larger and use reflective material. Alert drivers by installing rumble strips before a stop sign.
-Lighting: overall better lighting for highways and city streets. As we age our pupils shrink so our eyes need more light to see.
-Pavement markings: use reflective material to mark road edges, curbs, lanes and intersections.
-Traffic signals: make traffic signal heads bigger, 8 to 12 inches could be needed in some locations.
-Freeway exits & entrances: make larger clearer signs giving drivers plenty of time to move over.
-Work zones: warn driver’s way in advance of the approaching work zone areas. Large, bright, flashing and carefully placed devices are needed to guide drivers through the work zone area.
-Changeable message signs: need to be easy to read and use short simple wording.
If you or someone you love has been involved in an accident in Boston or the surrounding areas, contact Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for assistance. Call for a free consultation at (617) 777-7777.