Sacramento Traffic Collision on Watt Avenue
A crash along the Watt Avenue off-ramp of eastbound Highway 50 resulted in injuries on December 14. According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), a black Chevy Cruz and a red Nissan Leaf were involved in the traffic collision. Emergency responders with Sacramento Fire were called to the scene to evaluate the injured. A person with back and neck complaints was transferred to Kaiser North Medical Center for treatment. The CHP is actively investigating the traffic collision to determine liability. There is no word as of the time of this report why the accident occurred or if drugs or alcohol were involved.
Off-Ramp Accidents
Entrance and exit ramps are often implicated in highway accidents. In terms of frequency, 50 percent of accidents occur on off-ramps, 36 percent happen on the entrance to a highway, and roughly 16 percent occur mid-point on access roads. There are three major types of crashes: sideswipe/cutoff, rear-end, and run-off-road accidents. These account for approximately 95 percent of all entrance and exit ramp accidents. The most prominent type of crash associated with exiting a highway is the run-off-road accident. Entrance to the highway is usually associated with rear-end and sideswipe/cutoff accidents. Run-off-road accidents usually occur more often in inclement weather on a curved area of the ramp or at night. Speed is also a major factor in ramp accidents. Drunk driving is associated with about 14 percent of all run-off-road accidents. The most common type of accident on access roads occurs when one vehicle rear-ends another due to congestion. Merging traffic collisions on entrance ramps arise most often when passenger vehicles sideswipe a large truck.
Improving Ramp Safety
The design of the ramp has a great deal to do with the number of accidents. One way to limit the number is to enhance the ramp’s design by increasing the radius of the curve, accommodating higher speeds. Controlling speed is also a factor, and the use of traffic surveillance cameras is a great help. Since rear-end crashes on ramps are associated with congestion, ways to counter this lower the number of crashes. This includes the installation of surveillance systems to detect congestion and the use of a measured entrance to the area or alerts. In order to reduce the number of sideswipe accidents, longer acceleration lanes could be added.
How An Attorney Can Help After a Traffic Collision
It is important to gather as much evidence against the at-fault driver as possible since proving negligence is an integral part of a personal injury claim. At our firm, we dispatch our investigative team to the accident site immediately since evidence can be discarded or hidden. Our investigators evaluate the road conditions, interview witnesses who saw the crash, and obtain video footage from traffic surveillance cameras. In some cases, accident reconstruction techniques are also used to determine liability. Because police reports are widely used as evidence in many cases during insurance negotiations and in court proceedings, our investigators scour the reports for errors. We also look at the number of accidents associated with the area in the past to determine if the design of the roadway played a part in the crash. If so, it is possible to file a claim against the government party in charge of roadway construction. Once all the evidence has been accumulated, it is released to our legal team to use in the construction of a robust case for our client.
Sacramento Car Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento car accident attorney. Injury in a car accident can be devastating and cause physical and financial harm. For free and friendly advice, call me at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400. You can also reach out to me online.
I’ve helped numerous clients in the Sacramento area reclaim full damages in vehicular collisions, pedestrian injuries, and wrongful deaths, among other types of trauma.
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Photo Attribution: https://pixabay.com/photos/highway-road-off-ramp-cars-travel-3836653/
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