If you live in the Los Angeles area, you likely spend your driving time on a mixture of roads. Driving on the freeways and on busy streets like Ventura Blvd. can be stressful due to the traffic, but can you relax when you get into less sparsely populated area.
You can’t and shouldn’t. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2020 figures show that 43% of fatal traffic crashes occurred on rural roads.
That might seem surprisingly high when you consider that only one in five of the people in the U.S. lives in rural locations, and two out of every three miles driven is on urban roads. However, there are other reasons.
Rural roads pose special dangers
Why are crashes more likely to be fatal (or result in serious injuries) in rural areas than in urban ones.
- Drivers travel faster on rural roads: Many rural roads have higher speed limits than urban (non-freeway) roads. The faster you go, the greater the impact will be in any crash and the easier it is to lose control in the first place.
- Help is further away: Getting urgent medical attention can sometimes mean the difference between life and death in a crash. There are more hospitals and emergency vehicles in cities and suburbs, but anyone involved in a crash in rural and mountain areas will likely have to wait longer for help.
Wherever a crash takes place, if the other driver is to blame, you will need to learn more about how to hold them to account and get the compensation you need. Having experienced legal guidance can help.