DEFECTIVE HIGHWAY DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION:
DEFECTIVE DESIGN:
Some highways are more dangerous than others because of the physical characteristics of the highway and surrounding median and shoulders or because they are more likely to encourage drivers to make mistakes.
For example, there is now a traffic light at the Railroad Pass Casino on U.S. 95 just outside of Boulder City. For decades prior to this traffic light, serious auto collisions occurred with depressing frequency as car entering or exiting that casino from the opposite lane of traffic got frustrated waiting for a traffic break to cross the lane next to the casino. Thinking calmly while reading or writing this website it seems like drivers shouldn't get frustrated waiting for traffic breaks and should just be patient. But people are social animals and when traffic is backed up behind you and maybe people are honking and five minutes go by without finding a traffic break, it is predictable that some drivers will get a bit hyper and take a risk they shouldn't. Isn't it better to install a traffic light in a case like this rather than cart people off to the hospital or morgue on a regular basis?
At present if you take U.S. 95 North towards the edge of town (Las Vegas) you will see that the concrete median divider gives way to a dirt median protected by guard rails for a few miles. Then the guard rails end. After the guard rails end as you continuing northbound you will see that the median has a shallow U shape: lowest in the center. You will recall from your driving experiences that uncontrolled cars have a tendency to find their way down hill. Thus the shallow U shaped median will channel cars into the center. But, what do we find in the center? We find "high mast lights", and concrete overpass supports. Are these supports or giant steel light poles protected by barriers, sand barrels or raised dirt? No. This is a highway designed to kill and sooner or later it will. (I, Jonathan Reed, wrote to former Gov. Guinn twice complaining about this situation with no result.)
Oh, and why are there guard rails for the first few miles after the concrete dividers end? Then Gov. Guinn approved emergency funding for these guard rails after a much publicized tragic collision in which a car crossed over the median into oncoming traffic.
Happily, there are also examples of good highway design (safe highway design) in Las Vegas, especially compared to other countries. If you Google pictures of the crash which killed Princess Diane you will see that her car crashed into support pillars as it was driving in an underpass in Paris. In this unsafe Paris underpass (unsafe highway design), the support pillar went from highway level to ceiling. If there had been a guard rail running the length of the pillars or if the pillars had been connected by concrete dividers her car would have glanced off the median dividers and she would likely be alive today. If you drive east on Desert Inn, after you cross Paradise you will enter an underpass. In this underpass the bottoms of the concrete support pillars are encased in a smooth concrete wall for the first few feet above highway level. This is the design that would have saved Princess Di.
DEFECTIVE CONSTRUCTION:
One type of accident that happens repeatedly is that a car drifts off to the right because of driver inattention or slippery conditions. The passenger side wheels are now off the highway. The driver attempts to fix the situation by turning the wheel to the left. If the highway and shoulder are even with each other and the shoulder is not too soft, the driver usually corrects without a problem. But, if the highway surface is raised a couple of inches or more compared to the shoulder, or if the shoulder is soft, the front passenger wheel and tire are "stuck." The passenger wheels don't get back on the road. In this case the driver should brake and slow down. However, there is a predictable natural instinctive reaction on the part of many drivers to just turn the wheel more to the left. Suddenly, either because the shoulder rises up or the car loses speed, the passenger front tire climbs back onto the highway and the car shoots off to the left into oncoming traffic or off the left side of the road.
Ideally, in highway construction the new shoulder construction should keep right up with the new highway construction. Unfortunately, the new shoulder construction sometimes lags well behind.
DEFECTIVE HIGHWAY OR CONSTRUCTION CLAIMS:
Defective highway and construction claims are difficult and remind of us of slip/trip and fall cases. In both types of claims there is a hazard which the defense will argue most people navigated safely. Yet, also in both types of claims there is a hazard which predictably caused injury. Many attorneys refuse to consider defective highway or construction claims. Our firm is happy to talk to you about a claim of this type that you may have.
Contact Information:
Reed & Mansfield
6655 W. Sahara Ave., Suite B-200
Las Vegas, Nevada 89146
Phone: 702-343-0494
e-mail: lawlv@cox.net
website: www.accidentawardslasvegas.com