The Shoulders of our Texas Roadways: Risky Places for You to Be | DENENA | POINTS
CALL
TEXT

The Shoulders of our Texas Roadways: Risky Places for You to Be

file0001051245253

Deer Park accident lawyers see that annually hundreds of people suffer fatal injuries on the shoulders of U.S. roads. These fatalities include:

1. Accident first responders,
2. Reporters covering accidents from the shoulder of the road,
3. Pedestrians walking alongside the road, and
4. People with stalled, wrecked, or broken down vehicles.

Around 12% of the fatalities tied to our interstates actually represent pedestrians in the roadway or on the shoulder of the road. A large proportion of these fatalities occur at night. Deer Park accident lawyers caution you that at night more drivers are driving impaired (DUI) or fatigued. And even unimpaired drivers have greater difficulty in visually detecting obstacles or pedestrians in their paths at night.

To save yourself from being injured in an accident on the shoulder of a roadway, Deer Park accident lawyers say that you should:

  • Try to make it to the nearest exit off the road in the event of an emergency.
  • If you have to be on the shoulder of the road, try to stay inside your vehicle if at all possible.
  • If you have a flat tire, drive to the nearest exit and find a safe place to stop your car. Replacing a ruined rim might cost several hundred dollars, but stopping on the shoulder could cost you your life. And you can’t replace that.
  • If you can’t make it off the shoulder, pull off as far away from traffic as possible. Use your hazard lights. If there’s a guardrail or fence, get on the other side (unless you’re on an overpass shoulder). If you have flares, use them.

Local laws generally require that you move away a lane if you spot an accident or first responders at the scene of an accident. But that’s not always possible in rapid or heavy traffic. And drivers might have little time and only a short distance to react to an emergency. Experience teaches us that some people react better than others in the event of an emergency. So don’t take chances.

If another person’s unsafe, negligent, or reckless driving injures you or wrongfully kills your loved one on the shoulder of a road, the Deer Park accident lawyers of Denena & Points could help you. Our extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of the complexities of vehicle accident claims could help you recover just financial compensation for your losses from the accident. Call us today for your free and confidential accident consultation. Let us help you make a full recovery.