As a Greenville SC automobile accident lawyer who represents people in automobile accident cases, I read in the news today July 11, 2014, that South Carolina rural roads have been identified as the nation’s most dangerous. According to a national transportation research group, South Carolina rural roads are almost six times more deadly than other types of roads in South Carolina.
Rural roads are often too narrow for modern traffic. Thus, the shoulders of the roads must be safe for use by drivers. The shoulders of the road need to be kept level with the pavement. The shoulders must also be wide enough to accomodate traffic and automobiles that need to use the shoulder of the road. A lot of rural roads were former county roads that have been simply paved over, according to media reports. Thus the roads were not made for the demands of modern traffic. When an automobile is driving down a rural road, the smallest of actions can lead to tragic consequences. Essentially, there is absolutely no room for the smallest of errors that can occur during normal driving occurring on small narrow rural roads. For instance a driver who looks into the rear view mirror and then ever so slightly eases onto the shoulder while looking in the mirror, could lose control of the vehicle and have an accident that could produce death or serious injury.
South Carolina’s rural roads need to be made safer and they need to be made safer now. The problem will only get worse as more people move to our state, pushing development further into the rural areas and use of rural roads climbs. Moreover, factories moving to South Carolina’s rural areas will want safe adequate roads for its products to get to market and for its employees to get to work.
Frequently there are reports of one vehicle accidents resulting from overcorrection. Was it ever determined that the shoulders of the road were safe for use by a vehicle? Was it ever determined that the shoulders caused the driver to overcorrect in the first place? Before the driver gets all the blame, we need to look at the situation to determine what really caused the automobile accident in the first place. Feel free to call the Thomas Creech Law Offices at 864-235-4999 if you have questions about or are in need of representation in a Greenville SC automobile accident case.