Davis Law Group, P.S.

Study Shows Roadway Debris Causes 25,000 Accidents Each Year

A study was recently published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety regarding vehicle-related road debris.

The study showed that the debris causes 25,000 accidents and almost 100 deaths – annually.
Recently, three small kids were killed in New York and a woman died in Missouri – both accidents caused by roadway debris.

In Seattle just five months ago, a 24-year-old woman was in a car accident and rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

"I was petrified," The mother of the girl, Robin Abel says. "When I got in there, two doctors came in. And they stood above me. And I just looked at them. And they said,'It's hopeless, we can't save her.'"

After leaving the hospital, she received a call saying that she may have a chance of survival but her future was minimal.

"They kept telling me that they thought she'd be a vegetable, that she would never hear, that she would not see. They didn't know if she would ever speak again. The board had hit her on the diagonal across her face, and pretty much obliviated a lot of her face,” Abel said.

So, what caused her accident? Road debris.

She weas driving home from working around 11 p.m. when a piece of furniture fell off a trailer in front of her Jeep. The impact of the hit, caused a large chunk of wood to break off and shoot straight through her windshield.

The piece of wood was 60 pounds. Miraculously, she survived.

Doctors spend 15 hours reconstructing her face. She will never smell or taste again and has brain damage.

The man who failed to properly secure the piece of furniture that hit the young woman will be given a ticket and fined between $82 to $197.

"I think the saddest part about that case is that instance was completely preventable. It came loose and a piece came through the car and results were catastrophic," reporter Peter Kissinger said.

If you are carrying a load, this is what you should do:

• Secure your load and re-check while driving

• If you're behind a vehicle that's suspicious looking, drop back

• Move into different lane

• Look around you to see what your options are in case the worst happens

• Sometimes, it's better to drive over small debris than swerve to avoid it, which can cause you to lose control of car

Do you think the consequences for dropping debris on the roadway should be increased?

Tell us what you think by commenting on this post.


Contact an experienced personal injury attorney if you have been injured in an accident caused by roadway debris.