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Many Causes of Car Accidents Include Road Debris

Every year, California car accident lawyers have found that many causes of car accidents are due to road debris.  Road debris could include everything from small objects that fly off from underneath the tire of the vehicle in front of you, to couches and television sets that fall off from a pickup truck traveling ahead.  Whatever the size of the debris, the result of objects falling off from vehicles, can be devastating to motorists around, and especially those following at the back.

According to California authorities, last year, they spent approximately $50 million clearing junk and debris from California’s roads.  The junk included everything from couches, beds, furniture, and other appliances to produce, steel and plywood.  Many people in California prefer to transport furniture, appliances and other goods on pickup trucks.  These goods are barely held together with a thin rope, and when the rope gives way, the cargo can simply be dumped on the road, creating an accident hazard for motorists behind the vehicle.

In a situation like this, a motorist following the pickup truck is taken completely unawares.  After all, driver education doesn’t really prepare you for how to avoid a washing machine falling off from the pickup in front of you.  Motorists in a situation like this typically tend to panic and swerve.  This often results in a collision.  Other times, the debris may fly off and crash through the windshield of the vehicle behind.  The debris doesn’t have to be particularly large to cause damage.  A small tool falling off a pickup truck can bounce with enough force to crash through the windshield of vehicles at the back, severely injuring occupants and drivers.

California’s roads present even more serious road debris accident hazards to commuters.  Freeways in Los Angeles County are especially more susceptible to road debris hazards.  In most cases, falling debris causes no harm.  The California Highway Patrol is informed about the debris on the road, and it is cleared.  However, in some cases, motorists are taken aback by the falling debris, and can panic resulting in accidents.  In other cases, the debris simply flies through windshields seriously or fatally injuring occupants.

In 2006, a California sheriff’s deputy was killed in an accident caused when a cement truck swerved to avoid an object that had fallen off a pickup truck.  Some of the most serious causes of car accidents are caused from flyaway truck fires.  These tires can be light enough to bounce into nearby windshields once they come loose from the vehicle, and also heavy enough to cause serious injuries or fatalities.

Unfortunately, in many of these accidents, it’s hard to trace the driver whose vehicle dumped the debris.  In many cases, the drivers are not even aware that their cargo has fallen off the vehicle.  What makes the situation worse is that there’s very little accurate data about the kind of accident hazards posed by road debris.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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