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Driving Safety: The Dangers of Shoulder Drop-offs

By Megan Roth

As mentioned in yesterday’s article, I had my first car accident (yes, first – reckless driving, ignorance and a sense of immortality led me to have several) when I was just 16-years old.

After that accident, my parents ground me from driving for about a month – which was fine with me; there was no way I was getting behind the wheel again anytime soon. When my punishment was lifted, though, I still wasn’t ready to drive. My father recognized this, then put me behind the wheel and made me drive the same stretch of road where I had my accident.

Ugh – making me drive that road again was an even worse punishment than not allowing me to drive! Terrifying as it was, however, it was beneficial because it helped me get past that fear. And though I ‘got past’ it, it still affects the way I drive today (okay, I don’t drive today, but you know what I mean…)

I have this fear of crossing the center lane and hitting an oncoming car again; thus, I hug the shoulder. Which increases my odds of dropping a wheel off the side of the road and may result in an accident by either A) veering off the road or B) overcorrecting and striking another vehicle on the road.

Not very comforting, is it? This (shoulder drop-offs) has been recognized as a potential safety problem by the Transportation Research Board and has been attributed to a whole slew of liability lawsuits in years past.

In numerous cases, court systems have found the state negligent in terms of road conditions and safety precautions and have declared them at fault for the unsafe roadways and shoulder drop-offs which have resulted in related accidents; they’ve recognized the part pavement-edge drop-off (PEDO) can play and have pointed fingers when it comes to inadequate safety measures in terms of PEDO heights and regulations. Sometimes that recognition has come in the form of millions of dollars being awarded to plaintiffs; however, that still doesn’t account for the lives lost.

In fact, nothing makes up for the lives lost due to PEDO; however, in an attempt to prevent similar fates many states are attempting to improve such conditions and are implementing certain measures and enforcing regulations that require shoulder drop-offs to meet certain regulations.

Though drivers go off the road for a multitude of reasons (sometimes they’re forced to run off in order to avoid a potential accident, sometimes they’re simply not paying attention), enforcing regulations requiring PEDO be at a certain slant and height would make it much easier for drivers to get back on the road and could potentially lessen the number of deaths and injuries which result from related accidents.

In addition to these regulations being enforced, however, it’s also important that drivers step up and act a little more cautiously. We know you’re not always at fault for what happens on the roadways but it’s still important you accept some responsibility: be alert, slow down a bit and, in the event that you do drop a wheel off the shoulder, merge back onto the road subtly and avoid jerking the wheel at all costs (overcorrecting can actually lead to worse injuries).

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on February 04, 2009 (boomark / email).