Road design and the lack of proper road maintenance can play a contributing or significant role in accidents. As a result, when an accident occurs involving one of our clients, we will want to determine whether road design or road poor road maintenance contributed to an accident, and if it did, we will want to identify all parties who potentially are liable, including towns, cities, and municipalities. If you have been in any kind of accident due to defective road design or defective road maintenance in Arizona, contact the Phoenix defective road lawyers at Begam Marks & Traulsen, P.A. today.
What Constitutes Defective Road Design?
Defective road design can include:
- A determination that a higher speed is posted, when in fact a lower speed should be required based upon existing traffic conditions and factors
- Design that creates blind spots for traffic, such as when an intersection is placed just over the crest of a hill, so drivers going up the hill cannot see the intersection until it is too late to stop
- Improper marking of lanes
- Not have road curves properly banked
- Including merging zones that do not give drivers sufficient space to merge given existing traffic conditions
- Other roadway engineering design or factors involving a roadway build that can be dangerous
These are only some possibilities that can make a road dangerous.
Defective Road Maintenance
Cities, towns, counties, and other municipalities have a duty to properly maintain roads. However, roads can be especially dangerous if proper maintenance is not undertaken with respect to the roadway itself, the proper functioning of traffic control signals, or vegetation along the roadway that may impair vision to cross traffic, signs, or traffic control signals.
In the scope of our accident investigation, our Phoenix personal injury lawyers will want to carefully inspect the conditions that existed on a road as soon as possible following the accident. We will want to determine whether traffic control devices were working properly, whether there were any obstructions to signs, lights, or cross traffic, and whether they were any large potholes or other road conditions that may have contributed to an accident. Because conditions can change (or be changed) following an accident, our car accident lawyers in Phoenix will want to conduct our investigation before any such changes are made.
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