Are hazardous PA roads accidents waiting to happen?

When there’s a car accident, the victims and their insurance companies are looking to point a finger at someone. Bad drivers beware. If you were speeding, drunk, running red lights, driving distracted – you will be blamed.

But what if you were doing none of the above? What if the other drivers who were involved, did none of the above? What if the only person, place, or thing to blame is hazardous roads in PA?

What causes hazardous road accidents?

• Poor road maintenance
• Lack or guard rails/sidewalks/crosswalks
• Lack of shoulders
• Overgrown trees and shrubs that hide signage and block the right of way
• Poorly designated intersections
• No signage or confusing signage
• Potholes or bad paving
• Poorly marked lanes in the road
• Driving recklessly in bad weather

Roads that look dangerous have fewer to no accidents. On the other hand, a location that does not look dangerous may have a high crash rate. If drivers think a location is hazardous, they are more careful. Accidents may happen on hazardous roads in PA more often when the conditions are not so obvious at a glance.

Do you think you can’t fight City Hall or the highway bureaucracy? Think again. The burden of proof relies on a car accident lawyer who must prove:

• The roadway or intersection was dangerous;
• The municipality or governmental agency maintaining the road knew about the defects but ignored the situation;
• The victim’s injury was caused by the hazardous road;
• The municipality or government agency could’ve fixed the problem for reasonable costs.