Stamford Car Accidents Shows Dangers of Guardrail Crashes
A recent car accident in Stamford resulted in the hospitalization of two people. The crash occurred when a BMW collided with a Honda station wagon pulling out of a driveway in the early morning. Both cars struck the guardrail. Police shut down the road for nearly an hour after sending the victims to the hospital, at least one with a head injury.
Automobile accidents that catapult vehicles off the road are among the most common. Such accidents often send vehicles rolling and striking objects in their path, accounting for nearly half of all traffic accident fatalities. Guardrail collisions are frequent and dangerous.
Guardrails
When a safe, off-road environment providing wide, clear crash zones that are free of obstacles is impossible, guardrails can help minimize the consequences of an accident. The chief benefit of guardrails is in bringing the vehicle to a stop and preventing it from rolling or striking other objects in its path. Of course, guardrails can also lead to serious injury or death.
Depending on the severity of the accident and the quality of the guardrail, drivers and passengers of vehicles that hit guardrails may also be injured by the guardrail itself, sometimes with deadly consequences. Records show that car occupants may be impaled or even decapitated by the metal from guardrails.
Improved Models
Over the course of decades, highway safety experts and researchers have experimented with several guardrail models in an effort to increase safety. While some may reduce the impact of collisions, they may also cause cars to roll and strike other objects. New guardrail technology is safer, but older models known as “blunt-end” guardrails pose a safety danger. Unfortunately, blunt-end models continue to exist on thousands of miles of highway.
Defective guardrails may fail to prevent and even worsen injuries caused by traffic accidents. Victims of guardrail collisions should contact an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss the legal consequences of accidents and ascertain whether the guardrail was functioning as intended.