At the law firm of Frasier, Frasier & Hickman, LLP, our mission is to fight for the rights of people like you

Oklahoma’s older roads are causing problems

Drivers need to consistently adjust to their surrounding environments. When it rains, they need to slow down and turn on the windshield wipers. When it is windy, they need to have a firm grip on the steering wheel and stay close to the middle of their lane. Unfortunately, some accidents aren’t the result of failing to adjust to the weather. Many are due to older roads that haven’t seen repairs in ages.

Recently, American insurance comparison website Insurify made a ranking list of the top 10 states that are in dire need of road repair. They put Oklahoma in the tenth spot thanks to 22 percent of the state’s rural roads and 16 percent of bridges to be in poor condition. Residents should be aware of the large amount of deteriorating roads in the state to properly prepare themselves for driving in the area.

Rocky and disruptive rural roadways

This is far from the first year Oklahoma’s rural roads face criticism for a lack of safety. Rural areas see many motor vehicle accidents every year due to the short lanes, nonlinear pathways, lack of lights and luring careless drivers into a false sense of security. Oklahoma contains a multitude of these streets, and they receive nowhere near the amount of maintenance an urban highway does. In recent years, it’s become more noticeable as the shorter lanes cause motorists to run into more cracks, potholes and broken off pieces of the road during their journey.

While the Department of Transportation did install more center line rumble strips on rural highways last year to prevent center line crossover fatalities, there are still plenty of roads in agricultural areas that are in serious need of an upgrade. The more time these streets continue to go without maintenance, the higher chances fatalities will occur on them.

Collapsing bridges

As the Insurify article notes, many of these bridges were built before 1930 to allow early automobiles and horse riders to cross certain dangerous gaps safely. Unfortunately, these constructions do not stand the test of time. Proof can be seen with the Norman Bridge collapse earlier this month.

Prior to this, the bridge already fell apart in 2007 for being over 50 years old, and the quick fix-up only lasted for just over a decade. Even then, the public works director admits that it should not have lasted that long, demonstrating that maintenance on these areas is not in high priority for the state.

If these paths do not see further updates, you might need to find alternate routes to get to your destination safely. Should you receive injury from an accident on a deteriorating road or bridge, you need to contact professional assistance to help you physically and financially recover from the incident.

Archives

RSS Feed