Defective Roadway

In many ways safer road design can make transportation safer for motorists, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Federal and state transportation guidelines stress the importance of good design that is both safe for road users and sensitive to the surrounding environment.

Safe design requires that road users must have sufficient time to be able to see, process and react to information.

A safe road environment should:

• Give consistent messages to road users.
• Provide no surprises
• Provide a controlled release of information
• Warn road users of any possible substandard features
• Inform road users of the type of unusual conditions that are likely to be encountered
• Guide road users through unusual sections of road
• Control road users through conflict points or areas of conflict

Local municipalities and state agencies are responsible to maintain and to control tens of thousands of miles under their jurisdiction These agencies have a legal responsibility for dangerous and defective conditions that exist on the roadways under their jurisdiction.

Automobile & Motorcycle accidents are often caused by bad roads and defective conditions of state roadways. A number of road design situations that cause automobile accidents, which include but are not limited to the following, may define dangerous & defective roadways:

• Inadequate or insufficient notification of an impending condition such as construction zone
• Inadequate or insufficient notification of an impending condition such as merging traffic
• Inadequate or insufficient notification of an impending condition such roads affected by weather conditions
• Reduction of shoulder or shoulder drop-off
• Roads poorly marked with highway division status, line striping and edge lines
• Excessive oil and/or gravel due to tar and road maintenance procedures
• Potholes

State laws allow you to collect, if you are the victim of defective or dangerous roadways, from either the local municipality or the state itself. The local municipality or the state may hold the sole responsibility for injuries sustained while traveling on their roads.

If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident caused by a defective roadway, contact Erie’s experienced personal injury attorney David Hunter for your free consultation today!

Consultations are free. We don't get paid until you do.

Contact an Erie, Pennsylvania, auto accident lawyer, David Hunter,for help with your claim. Our law office is located downtown, within three blocks of both the federal and state courthouses, and provides free parking that is handicap accessible.