Dangerous Roads

While it may seem obvious why Arizona road shoulder drop offs are dangerous, there are more than just a few reasons to avoid these hazardous shoulders. Drop offs can send you and your car careening into a river, down a ravine, or off a cliff. While many drop offs are marked or barricaded, others aren’t. And even if you are lucky enough to avoid some of the dangerous situations mentioned above, there are other things that can happen. Here are a few:

• Cars can roll if they hit drop offs suddenly and at high speeds.
• It can be extremely dangerous to change a flat tire on a drop off.
• There often isn’t enough room to pull over when there is a drop off, leaving stranded drivers stuck in the middle of the road.
• Other cars can rear-end you if you are stranded on a drop off shoulder.

Steps to Avoid Arizona Road Shoulder Drop Offs

If you must pull over, avoid Arizona road shoulder drop offs as much as possible. Before you pull onto the shoulder, put on your hazard lights to indicate to other drivers that you are having trouble and will be slowing down. As you slow down, glance at the shoulder to judge how much it slopes away from the road. If the incline seems too steep, keep driving if possible. Take the next exit or wait for a safer pull-off area. If you must stop because your car has broken down, pull onto the shoulder as much as possible without risking your safety. Put on your hazard lights and call 9-1-1 for help immediately. Do not get out of your car, especially if you are still on the road or are very close to the road. It is generally safer in your car than it is standing right next to it.

Contact an Arizona Personal Injury Attorney

An experienced Arizona personal injury attorney knows that road shoulder drop offs should be properly marked or barricaded by the government entity responsible for keeping roads safe. If you are injured because of one of these shoulders, such as when you pulled off and your car rolled, got stuck, or slid down a hill, contact the Husband and Wife Law Team immediately. We will begin working on your case to win you a settlement that pays for your related expenses. For a free consultation, call us today.

As Tucson car accident attorneys, we agree with a recent statement by an Arizona Board of Transportation member that something should be done to prevent fatal accidents that can occur when dust storms kick up between Tucson and Phoenix. These dust storms severely decrease the visibility on Interstate 10 between the two cities, making the road conditions very dangerous for drivers, according to a news report in TriValley Central. The dust storms are caused by the wind that blows across farm fields and desert areas near the interstate.

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) put together a group called the “Dust Task Force” to look into what can be done. Some of the possibilities include:

• Making drivers aware of areas that are prone to car accidents;
• Improving storm predictions and warning systems; and
• Installing dust monitors.

Tucson Car Accident Statistics

According to TriValley Central, three people died in car accidents caused by dust storms three years ago, including two Casa Grande teens. In 2011, two more fatalities were caused by the dust storms. In total in 2010, there were 9,720 Tucson car accidents. In Arizona in 2010, there were 48 car accidents caused by blowing sand, soil, and dirt, which resulted in two deaths and 41 injuries.

Avoid Tucson Car Accidents Caused By Dust Storms

We don’t want to see anyone else injured or killed in car accidents, especially in dangerous roadway car accidents caused by dust storms. Here are some tips to avoid car accidents caused by dust storms:

• Turn your lights on immediately, including flashers if necessary, when you enter a dust storm.
• Slow down.
• Do not change lanes or attempt to pass if you can’t see at least several hundred feet ahead or behind you.
• Pull off on an exit and park in a safe location until the dust storm passes.

Contact a Tucson Personal Injury Lawyer

As Tucson personal injury lawyers, we know that even when people drive safely in hazardous conditions like dust storms, car accidents still happen. We work to obtain settlements that help pay for your medical bills and more. Contact the Husband and Wife Law Team at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. today for a free consultation.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Arizona has had at least 5,000 car accident deaths from 2005 to 2009. This alarming situation has led authorities to double their efforts in improving road safety.

One of Arizona Department of Transportation’s recent projects is focused at improving rural road safety (AZ Central 09/02/2011). According to data recently released by the ADOT, single-vehicle crashes in Arizona’s rural roads have resulted in 205 deaths in 2010, almost double of the fatalities caused by multi-vehicle crashes.

The recent release also revealed that a lot of these single vehicle crashes had drivers “hitting pedestrians or fixed objects such as trees, or they overturn.”

To address the issue, the state has taken part in a federal experiment that is aimed at predicting future trouble spots and has joined with other states such as Nevada and Utah in a campaign that focuses on reducing car accident deaths to zero by 2050.

Improved driver education and stronger enforcement of traffic safety laws are a few of the factors that ADOT is aiming at to help reduce fatal accidents in the state’s rural areas.

The NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System shows a decline in the state’s car accident fatalities from 2007 to 2009. This goes to show that recent improvements in road safety as well as safety information campaigns have been partially successful but will have a long way to go before dropping numbers to zero.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of a car accident in the Arizona area and would like to receive compensation, call (602) 457-6222 for a free consultation with an Arizona personal injury lawyer at Breyer Law Offices, P.C.

A 2011 report from Transportation for America cites Arizona roads as “dangerous by design.” That is, the roads are designed for vehicles, with little thought for pedestrians, cyclists and people in wheelchairs. The report indicates that 1,479 pedestrians died while walking on Arizona roadways between 2000 and 2009. This accounts for just over 3 percent of all pedestrian deaths in the United States during the same period. Several factors play a role in the high number of pedestrian fatalities in Arizona:

• Some roadways lack sidewalks and crosswalks, making it dangerous for pedestrians to cross the street or walk along the side of the road.
• Roadways with speed limits of 40 MPH or higher pose an increased risk to pedestrians, as pedestrians have only a 15 percent chance of surviving an accident at this speed.
• Some Arizona roads lack traffic lights and signs that would improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Pedestrian Danger Index allows people to make direct comparisons between metropolitan areas and their level of danger to pedestrians. The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan area has a PDI of 132.4, making it the most dangerous metropolitan area in Arizona for pedestrians. It also ranks 8th in the United States. The Tucson metropolitan area has a PDI of 84.7 and ranks 25th in the United States. La Paz County, Apache County and Navajo County have the highest average pedestrian fatality rates in Arizona.

A major part of the problem is state transportation departments use only 1.5 percent of their funding to make improvements that would benefit pedestrians. This means roadways continue to be unsafe for those who need to walk to work or want to stay healthy by exercising.

The Arizona hazardous roadway attorneys at The Breyer Law Offices P.C. have the experience needed to hold negligent parties accountable for injuries sustained in a pedestrian accident. If you or a loved one sustained an injury in this type of accident, contact us at 602-457-6222 for a no-obligation consultation to discuss your situation.

According to report by ABC 15, 80 people are killed each year in the United States in car accidents involving debris on the roadway. Items that fall off the back of a truck or car have the potential of crashing through a windshield or into the front of a car. In other debris crashes, a driver may be forced to take sudden, evasive action to avoid hitting the debris and lose control of his or her vehicle causing a potentially deadly car accident.

One major cause of debris accidents is the improper loading of goods on vehicles. Arizona Statute 28-1096 states: “A passenger type vehicle shall not be operated on a highway with a load carried on the vehicle if the load extends beyond the line of the fenders on the left side of the vehicle or extends more than six inches beyond the line of the fenders on the right side of the vehicle.” Drivers who put others on the roadway at risk by transporting items unsafely can and should be held accountable. There are also state and federal regulations that require commercial truck drivers to load items in a safe and secure manner and hitch trailers properly so they don’t come loose.

Drivers are not the only potentially liable party for an Arizona hazardous roadways accident. The governing body may also be held liable for their dangerous roadways. When the governing body in charge of a roadway is notified about dangerous debris and fails to rectify the problem in a timely manner, that agency may be held liable for the resulting injury car accidents. Also, a private entity such as a trucking company can be held liable for an accident caused by improper loading or a debris spill caused by the reckless or negligent driving of a truck operator.

The knowledgeable Chandler dangerous roadway accident attorneys at The Breyer Law Offices P.C. can advise those involved in roadway debris accidents about how their car insurance policy will apply to such crashes. We also have an excellent track record of holding negligent drivers and entities accountable. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a roadway debris accident in Arizona, please contact us at 602-457-6222 for a free and comprehensive consultation.

Not all accidents are the result of negligent driving in Arizona. One of the major causes of Arizona car accidents that often goes underreported is dangerous roadway conditions. Car, pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle accidents can be caused by hazardous roadways. Anyone who has been injured in a crash caused by a dangerous roadway would be well-advised to contact an Arizona auto accident lawyer to better understand their legal rights and options.

Dangerous roadway conditions that often cause serious injury accidents in Arizona include debris on the roadway, large potholes, uneven surfaces, slick surfaces, dangerous curves, low visibility intersections, lack of sidewalks and crosswalks, lack of bike lanes and steep slopes. When an accident results from one of these conditions, it must be determined if the governing body was aware of the potential hazardous conditions and failed to rectify the situation. It is also important to look into whether that location has been the site of prior accidents.

When the government receives complaints about a dangerous road and they do not fix the problem, they are being negligent. Not all fixes are expensive. For example, putting in a turn lane, painting a crosswalk, installing a stop sign, or trimming vegetation that is causing visibility problems at an intersection does not cost more than a couple of hundred dollars. If an injury was caused by a dangerous roadway, then, the injured victim can file a claim against the governmental agency responsible for maintaining that roadway.

The experienced Scottsdale hazardous roadway attorneys at The Breyer Law Offices P.C. have a long and successful track record holding negligent parties accountable – be it individuals, corporations or governmental agencies. If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, please contact us at 602-457-6222 to find out how we can help.

Each year we see new intersections that have become the most dangerous in the country. These dangerous intersections included on the list are in Arizona, including dangerous Tucson intersections as well as dangerous intersections in Phoenix. It is often well known which Arizona intersections are most dangerous, as these intersections often lead to serious injury or wrongful death in defective road car accidents in Arizona by people just driving down the road. Too often, it is local or state governments that create these dangerous intersections, and then fail to remedy the problems they cause.

Now, people should be held accountable for their actions, but it is rather simplistic to lay the blame on those who hire personal injury attorneys to pursue a case against the government entity that created a dangerous intersection. Top Arizona personal injury lawyers know that such cases against the government are defended vigorously, and so should only be brought after careful consideration and examination by personal injury legal experts.

When considering a case, the statistics will tell one exactly how dangerous an intersection is by comparing the number of injury accidents and wrongful death accidents against the amount of traffic that goes through it. Often personal a skilled Phoenix personal injury attorney will bring in experts on road design and roadway maintenance can help determine whether a personal injury claim has merit.

For those who have questions about the maintenance or design of an intersection, and whether it may have directly contributed to a serious injury or wrongful death, we invite you to call us. We will offer straightforward answers that will help you make the right decision for you.

Every year, we see a new set of the most dangerous intersections in the United States. These often include a list of the most dangerous intersections in Arizona, the most dangerous intersections in Tucson, Arizona, the most dangerous intersections in Phoenix, Arizona, and so forth. In other words, it is public knowledge and well known which intersections are most likely to lead to serious injury or wrongful death for somebody who is innocently driving down the road. The government does not get off the hook when they created a dangerous intersection and failed to take steps to remedy that problem.

Certainly, people are responsible for their own actions. It would be all really simplistic to claim that anybody can hire any lawyer and simply pursue a dangerous intersection case against the government. The reality is that these claims are vigorously defended and should only be brought after careful consideration and with the help of a top personal injury lawyer in Tucson. First, the intersection’s statistics must be considered to see how dangerous it really is compared to the amount of traffic that flows through it. Next, an expert roadway design or roadway maintenance will often be brought in by a lawyer to help determine whether or not a lawsuit should be pursued.

If you have questions about whether or not the design or maintenance of an intersection directly contributed to the serious injury or wrongful death of a loved one, please feel free to give us a call. If you want honest and straight answers that will help you make decisions in moving forward, the Tucson, AZ defective road injury attorneys at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. are here to help you.