Many people feel as if city streets are more complex, more confusing and more dangerous than rural routes. After all, there are far more vehicles on the roads in these areas. Also, drivers may have to regularly contend with one-way streets, roundabouts and other relatively confusing driving situations that they wouldn’t encounter on rural roads.
Rural roads seem like they would be much safer. There are often a lot of wide-open spaces with good sightlines in rural locations. People generally feel safe driving in these conditions, and they may feel more relaxed. But is this feeling warranted?
Rural roads are actually more dangerous
When you break down the statistics, what you will find is that rural roads are disproportionately dangerous. Experts have determined this by considering the number of miles driven and comparing that to the number of fatal accidents. Deadly crashes happen at a greater rate on rural roads.
There are a few different reasons why this happens. One of them is just speed itself. At higher speeds, injuries are more likely to be fatal if there is an accident. Rural roads tend to have speed limits set around 55 miles an hour, whereas city streets tend to have speed limits at 25 or 35 miles an hour. This is a major difference that means any accident that occurs is simply far more likely to be deadly on a rural road, as it is more likely to occur at higher speeds.
Another important factor to keep in mind is where the nearest hospital is located. Someone who is driving in the city may not be more than a few miles from a hospital, and there may be ambulances and EMTs just a few minutes away. On a rural road, they could be a half an hour or more from a hospital, drastically increasing the response time for emergency professionals. Additionally, accidents in rural areas often take longer to be discovered because no one may witness the crash, whereas response times are very fast in the city as accidents tend to get called in immediately. Delays in treatment can cause injuries to become fatal.
Seeking compensation
it’s important to know when you’re at the most risk of being involved in a serious crash, but it is true that it can happen anywhere. Those who have lost loved ones or suffered significant injuries themselves need to know how to seek financial compensation to cover their costs.