Highway and Traffic Control Defects

Lafayette Car and Truck Accident Injury Lawyer

Car Driving on Highway
Many automobile, 18-wheeler, motorcycle, and ATV accidents are caused by defective roadways. Common categories of highway and traffic control defect claims include roadside hazards, site obstructions, pavement edge drops, construction and maintenance work zones, and railroad crossings. Several key documents are used extensively in the design, construction, and maintenance of highways and traffic control devices. These include:

  • Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
  • A Policy on Geometric Design of Highway and Streets
  • Roadside Design Guide
  • Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook
  • Traffic Control Devices Handbook
  • AASHTO Maintenance Manual
  • Traffic Engineering Handbook

The public has come to more fully understand the causes of these types of accidents. Design and maintenance changes have been made to include flattened foreslopes, break away signs and light poles, and guardrail installation on steep slopes and at large fixed objects close to the roadway. However, older highways and roads still bear the hazards of the past, including large trees close to the road, steep slopes, culvert headwalls, bridge rails and utility poles. Furthermore, poor maintenance by governmental bodies sometimes allow hazardous conditions such as large potholes, foundation failure, vision obscurities and the like to exist for unreasonable amounts of time. Some guardrails have too few posts, too low in height, too short, and do not completely protect against the hazards they were designed for, or have non-crashworthy end treatments. As a result a majority of claims for serious injury or death involve roadway design or traffic control elements that are deficient when compared to currently accepted roadway safety practice and principles. Yet other defects develop as a result of improper roadway maintenance, such as potholes, subsurface collapses allowing standing water, signs obstructed by tall grass or tree limbs and many other conditions. These defects occur more frequently on local roads where maintenance personnel are inadequately trained about the consequences of deficient roadway elements.

As a degreed mechanical engineer with engineering experience, Miles Matt has unique training and experience that helps him to fully understand the cause of an accident and its relationship to a deficient roadway element. Aaron Allen has over 20 years in litigating accidents caused by deficient roadway elements and has worked with traffic engineers and other forensic experts to help fully develop not only the cause of an accident but also its economic impact on his clients and the motoring public.

If you were injured in an accident, contact the personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Matt & Allen for a free, no commitment consultation.

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