Vehicle Accidents

Vehicle Accidents

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) applies to all types of highways open to public travel including private roadways. Vehicle accidents are inevitably investigated by law enforcement and more likely than not a motorist was issued a citation. You may have been wrongly accused and/or have a cause for action against another party (public agency or private entity).

Condition of the roadway including:

• pavement markings, drop-offs, potholes
• Signage (regulatory and warning), were signs in the proper location and adequately maintained?
• Posted speed limit
• Sight distance
• Tire marks
• Minimum speed from skid marks
• Speed at impact
• Point of impact (POI)
• Gouges
• Vehicle crush
• Vehicle parts
• Body tissue
• If the accident occurred in a work zone the investigation requires additional investigation skills including: adroit in deciphering construction and traffic control plans (TCP), a thorough understanding of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), especially Part 6.

At the conclusion of the investigation law enforcement officers are normally looking to issue a citation(s)

Responding law enforcement officers often are not adequately trained in accident investigation/reconstruction, and often fail to consider in their investigations the following: standards from the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and Traffic Engineering Manual (TEM). Those manuals specify when, what, where and how public road/right-of- ways should be maintained for the safety of motorist and pedestrians. The public right-of-way should be maintained free of fixed objects in *"the clear zone ", drop offs at the edge of the pavement should be limited to three quarters of an inch, signs should be properly selected, posted and maintained. Regulatory, warning, guide signs and pavement markings should be placed and maintained in accordance the MUTCD including **"retroreflectivity". Motorist should be given adequate warning of unexpected conditions on or adjacent to a highway, street, or private roads open to public travel and to situations that might not be readily apparent to road users (MUTCD 2C.01). Warning signs alert road users to conditions that might call for a reduction of speed or an action in the interest of safety and efficient traffic operations.

The following are a sample of accidents I have investigated which included many of the above mentioned deficiencies:

Arizona, (ADOT) defective highway design and failure to warn (fatalities)

Arizona, (county) insufficient intersection sight distance (fatality)

Arizona, (county) lack of warning of a hazardous road condition (injury)

California, (county) snowplow/pedestrian (injury)

California, (county) pavement drop-off (fatality)

California, (county) employee truck driver error (injury)

Connecticut, snowplow/pedestrian (fatality)

Illinois, work zone (fatality)

Michigan, motorcycle accident due to improper county highway maintenance procedures

New Mexico, (Kirkland AFB) inadequate intersection control (fatalities)

New York, (county) snowplow/automobile (injury)

Ohio, (county) highway defect (injury)

Ohio, (ODOT) work zone (fatality)

Ohio, improper regulatory speed sign posted

Ohio, inadequate warning to motorist approaching a (county) construction work zone (fatality)

Ohio, (city) failure to warn motorist of a hazardous condition in a construction work zone (injury)

Ohio, (city) failure to maintain or warn motorist of a defective road condition (injury)

Ohio, (ODOT) heavily loaded slow moving trucks entered state highway on a curve (injury)

* AASHTO  definition of clear zone

The Roadside Design Guide defines a clear zone as the total roadside border area, starting at the edge of the traveled way, available for safe use by errant vehicles. This area may consist of a shoulder, a recoverable slope, a non-recoverable slope, and/or a clear run-out area. The desired minimum width is dependent upon traffic volumes and speeds and on the roadside geometry. Simply stated, it is an unobstructed, relatively flat area beyond the edge of the traveled way that allows a driver to stop safely or regain control of a vehicle that leaves the traveled way.

Roadway departure crashes all too commonly result in serious injuries and fatalities for road users in the United States (US). From 2010 – 2012, 13,036 fatal crashes occurred where impact with trees and/or signs, poles and signals were the most harmful event. Source: Fatal Analysis Reporting System, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

** AASHTO and 2A.08 MUTCD - Retroreflectivity

Adequately maintained retroreflective signs improve highway safety and prevent roadway departure crashes by bouncing light from vehicle headlights back toward the vehicle and the driver's eyes, making the signs appear brighter and easier to see and read. Because the retroreflective properties of traffic control devices deteriorate over time, highway agencies need to actively manage or assess the maintenance of signs in order to ensure that they are clearly visible at night.

If the accident involved a CDL vehicle (>26,001lb) 49 CFR regulations are applicable including §391, the truck driver’s previous employment with other motor carriers should have been fully investigated. Each motor carrier is required to make a written record with respect to each previous employer contacted, or (at the minimum) some good faith effort to do so. The record must include the previous employer’s name and address, the date the previous employer was contacted (or the attempts made), and the information received about the driver. Most importantly, under 49 CFR 391.53, the safety performance histories received from the previous employers must be retained for as long as the driver is employed by that motor carrier and for three years thereafter. §393 (vehicle inspections and cargo securement) are some of the additional requirements.

Robert Burch, CHST

Mr. Burch served as a Road Safety Analyst for The Arizona Counties Insurance Pool (ACIP), conducted research on the Ohio Governor's Highway Safety Research Project (OGHSRP) and served as the safety officer for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Centers for Disease Control (CDC) research projects Contract No. 200-2002-00569.