With the economy starting to show signs of recovery, more people are taking vacations again. However, after years of stagnant wages and little ability to save, a lot of those vacations are being planned for closer to home so that people can drive to their destination. Your Denver auto accident attorney cautions that crowded highways and summer road construction lead to a high number of motor vehicle accidents.
According to U.S. DOT statistics, the months of June, July and August have the highest number of traffic fatalities out of the whole year. On May 28, 2014, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a new study that shows that motor vehicle crashes have an $871 billion economic and societal impact on U.S. citizens.
In addition to more cars and trucks on the roads during the summer months, there also tends to be a lot of construction on the roadways. The “orange barrel” problem and its effect on motor vehicle crashes have been documented and show the following:
- There were 87,606 crashes in work zones in 2010, which was 1.6% of total road-way crashes (5,419,345)
- Of those crashes, .6% were fatal; 30% were injuries, and 69% were property damage
- There were 37,476 injuries in work zones in 2010, or 96 injuries every day
- There were 514 fatal motor vehicle crashes in work zones resulting in 576 fatalities in 2010, or 1.6 fatalities a day
Your Denver auto accident attorney advises you to report all accidents immediately, contact your insurance agent, and get any medical help you may need. Contact your attorney to learn what remedies you may have, both in property and personal injury damages.
Of course, staying safe on the road and avoiding motor vehicle accidents is the best approach to summer travel. The NHTSA offers some safety tips for people about to hit the roadways:
- Before the trip, make sure your vehicle has been serviced recently; at the minimum, check the oil, windshield wiper fluid, tire pressure and tread
- Make sure you have the correct car seats and booster seats and that they are properly placed in the car; children under 13 should ride in the back seat; everyone, everywhere in the car must buckle up
- In case of emergency, have a cell phone car charger on hand, flashlight and flares with a white flag, jumper cables, jack and spare tire, basic repair tools, tire seal, water, first aid kit, oil and wiper fluid, maps and GPS.
Obviously, being prepared and driving safely still will not guarantee an accident-free trip; you simply cannot control the actions of other drivers on the road. But by being aware of dangerous areas on roadways–such as work zones–and by making sure that your vehicle is well-maintained and ready for the trip, you have eliminated some of the risks of the road that you can control. If you have been involved in an accident this summer, contact your Denver auto accident attorney at Levine Law to explore your options regarding your legal rights to compensation.
