If you meet people from a city environment, they’ll often tell you that their dream is to take a long leisurely drive through a rural area where they won’t encounter city traffic and city hazards on the road.
People tend to believe that rural areas are safer than heavily trafficked roads. However, it turns out the exact opposite is true. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows that 58% of all crashes occur on rural roads compared to 40% on city roads, despite the fact that city roads definitely get more traffic.
Why is this so? Here are some possible causes:
Reckless driving behaviors
The open rural roads tend to encourage motorists to take risks, like speeding, failing to wear a seat belt or driving while intoxicated. These all increase the chances of a wreck.
If a wreck does happen, these drivers are less likely to receive timely medical care due to the remoteness of the accident’s location.
Encounters with wildlife
Drivers are also more likely to encounter deer and other wild animals while traveling along rural roadways, which can also lead to wrecks.
Poor roadway design
A statistic from 2009 suggested that the federal government only contributed one-third of their funding to rural roadways despite roughly 60% of highway deaths occurring there.
Rural roadways tend to be the last ones to be updated to enhance their safety. Their antiquated design may make it challenging for motorists to recover when they do make a driving error. Lanes tend to be narrower, and trees and ditches surround them very closely, both of which often claim motorists’ lives.
Do you have debilitating injuries following a rural roadway accident?
Countless motorists have accidents on rural roadways like the ones here in Manchester every year. Tennessee law may entitle you to monetary damages for pain and suffering, lost wages and other losses.