Pittsburgh drivers should know that there is always a chance there will be a car accident whenever they are out on the road. It can be beneficial to keep track of the dangerous areas, so drivers will know when they should take greater care. One such area is Beaver County. According to research, the number of fatal car accidents in the county tripled in 2017. This differed greatly from the trends elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, there were 17 fatalities in the county in 2017. This was an increase of 12 from 2016, when the number was only five. This was the most deaths on the road in five years. While this was happening in Beaver County, the number of fatal accidents on other roads in the state reached an historic low. The number of deaths in Beaver County contradicts traffic engineers’ belief that the fatalities in the county continue to reduce.
The Pennsylvania DOT has yet to delve deeply into why there were so many more fatalities on the road, but the district traffic engineer says that more than 94 percent are due to behaviors behind the wheel. It is difficult to determine common denominators based on the statistics. Three accidents involved motorcyclists; two were alcohol-related; four happened due to distracted drivers; and five happened at intersections. One was weather-related. The 17 people who died were in a total of 16 accidents. Examining national statistics, the number of miles driven across the country has been rising.
When there is a fatal car accident – regardless of the statistics – it is imperative that it be treated as an individual occurrence and those who are affected have legal assistance to seek compensation. There can be long-term problems after the loss of a loved one, including reduced income, emotional impact and other costs. Having legal assistance to assess the circumstances of the accident can be vital when filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Source: timesonline.com, “Fatal crashes in Beaver County tripled in 2017,” Daveen Rae Kurutz, April 29, 2018