On behalf of Jeff Antin of Antin, Ehrlich & Epstein, LLP, Attorneys at Law posted in Municipal Liability on Friday, October 25, 2013.
TRIP, a company that gathers and disseminates information about surface transportation, has published a report wherein they name New York as having the 6th worst roads in the nation. In order to collect the information to help rank large city roads throughout the country, they accessed a 2011 survey by the Federal Highway Administration.
The report claims that even though the roads are so terrible, over $36 billion dollars is spent each year to maintain and repair them throughout the United States.
The major issue with bad roads, besides being aesthetically displeasing, is that they can be the root cause of a car accident. Safety hazards like pot holes are common, and it is dangerous when a driver abruptly swerves to avoid a divot that wasn’t visible before. Furthermore, road ruts can be difficult to steer out of for some vehicles, or cause a car to swerve back and forth as they hit the sides. When heavy rainfall occurs, the ruts will also fill up with water, without any ability to drain out, and cause a vehicle to hydroplane and potentially crash.
According to TRIP, improper road maintenance is also heavy on the wallets of New York drivers who pay an average of nearly $700 each year to repair or maintain cars that were damaged as a result of deficient road conditions. These numbers are separate from the medical costs that one must pay after being involved in a car accident that the poor roads caused.
Those who believe that dangerous road conditions led to an accident should contact a personal injury attorney.