A 47-year-old woman was killed in a recent head-on accident on Route 9, according to the Bangor Daily News. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead at the scene, reports the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver was heading westbound just before 6:00 a.m. when her vehicle collided with a pickup heading eastbound. It happened just west of Rooks Road. Officials are still investigating the cause of the collision. The eastbound driver was seriously injured and remains in Eastern Maine Medical Center.
Our Bangor car accident attorneys know head-on collisions are too often fatal. Preventive measures include traffic signs and road surface markings to help guide drivers through curves, as well as separating opposing lanes of traffic with wide central reservation (or median) and median barriers to prevent crossover incidents. But sometimes even those measures don’t save lives.
There are a number of possible causes for a head-on collision. Some of the most common causes include:
-Drowsy Driving: Those who fall asleep behind the wheel may unknowingly veer into oncoming traffic.
-Drunk Driving: Those who are impaired behind the wheel may sometimes lose control of their vehicle and swerve of drift into oncoming traffic.
-Dangerous Roadways: When a vehicle drives through a dangerous pothole or is forced to negotiate a dangerous curve or turn, the vehicle can potentially leave the lane of traffic into an oncoming lane.
-Failure to Yield: Some head-on accidents happen when a vehicle starts to turn at an intersection without yielding to oncoming traffic.
-Dangerous Lane Changes: Some drivers may attempt to pass a slower vehicle by passing on the left side when oncoming traffic is approaching.
-Distracted Driving: Drivers can’t see the road, or where they’re going, if they’re paying attention to something else. Distracted drivers oftentimes cause head-on collisions.
It is estimated that about 95 percent of head-on accidents are cause by error on the driver’s behalf. Under the current federal regulations, a vehicle must be able to reliable withstand a head-on accident at both 30 and 35 miles per hour. One study shows that these kinds of accidents happen mainly between intersections. Still, these accidents account for about 7 percent of fatal urban accidents and close to 15 percent of fatal rural accidents.
More than two out of three of all fatal crashes in Maine occur on rural, two-lane collector or arterial roads. Head-on crashes on these roads account for less than 5 percent of the accidents, but they are responsible for almost half of all fatalities.
Because a head on collision will likely result in catastrophic injuries, it is vital to have a personal injury lawyer who knows what to do in such a case. Quick action must be taken to conduct an investigation as to the facts and circumstances in order to preserve witnesses, property damage and inspect the scene for any other possible factors leading to the collision.
Contact the injury lawyers at Peter Thompson & Associates if you have been injured. Call 1-800-804-2004 for a consultation to speak to an attorney about your case.
More Blog Entries:
Bangor Uninsured Motorist Claims Follow Hit-and-Run Crashes, Maine Injury Lawyer Blog, January 25, 2014