Increased Construction Efforts in California May Increase Risk of Auto Accidents
California personal injury lawyers have always been aware that auto accidents on highway construction work zones can be prevented if contractors and other companies follow all safety guidelines. The New York Times has a report that confirms how easily these crashes can be prevented. According to the New York Times report, over the past 5 years alone, 4,700 people have been killed in accidents in highway work zones. That translates into more than two people killed every day in accidents on a work zone. During the same period, 200,000 people were injured in these accidents. Construction work zones may be seen as an annoyance by American motorists, but they are also the scene of some of the most preventable accidents in our country every year. The report outlines several of these fatal accidents across the country: In 2005, 26-year-old Bryan Lee was riding his motorcycle on highway 51 in Texas. The road had a dangerous pavement drop off. The wheels of the motorcycle ran off the edge, and threw Lee off the bike. He was run over by a truck, and killed. 18-year-old Anthony Sepeda was killed when his motorcycle struck a backhoe that had been parked just two feet from the travel lane on a highway in Pflugerville, Texas. According to construction industry standards, unused construction equipment must be parked at least 30 feet from the road. After the accident that killed Sepeda, the backhoe was removed from its place, and authorities put up a barrier. The conclusion of the accident was that Sepeda had likely been riding at excessive speeds, contributing to the accident. However, the speed limit in the area was 50 miles an hour.
One of the deadliest accidents on highway construction zones occurred on interstate 75 in Sarasota, Florida in 2007. Contactors failed to install a proper rolling roadblock in which police cruisers would stand across the highway, working to slow down traffic to 20 miles an hour around the zone. The roadblock on I-75 was improperly implemented, and vehicles were required to suddenly come to a complete halt on an overpass which had a posted speed limit of 70mph. A tractor trailer rig, that couldn’t slow down in time, crashed into several of the cars that had stopped at the road block. At least 10 people were injured and 2 people were killed in that tragic crash. After the accident, police found to their shock and horror that there were no signs warning motorists to slow down. The Florida Transportation Department outlines procedures for installing rolling roadblocks, but none of these had been followed by the contractor responsible for the bridge construction. There were no electronic warning signs in place, although these were required to be placed half a mile ahead. The contractor had just one police cruiser, instead of a cruiser in front of all three lanes. These are just the few of the accidents that show that failure to enforce strict standards for construction work zones has been a major factor in the severity of these crashes. As construction work around the country revs up fueled by federal stimulus funds, and regulations governing work zone safety continue to be minimal, California personal injury lawyers fear that there may be more such catastrophic accidents. The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of dangerous roads . Please visit our website at trlglaw.com . If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us . The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
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Increased Construction Efforts in California May Increase Risk of Auto Accidents