An Oregon woman was driving east on U.S. 20 recently when she lost control of her Ford Focus on the wet pavement. The car hit a guardrail and then swung into the opposite lane where it slammed into a Honda Accord going west. The Accord was then struck on the driver’s side by a Toyota RAV.
The result of the series of car accidents was that the driver of the Honda was killed and seven other people injured.
Oregon State Police said the crashes began when the woman driving the Focus lost control on the wet pavement. Many will dismiss the ensuing carnage as an unavoidable consequence of what happens when rain falls on concrete or asphalt and the surfaces become slick.
But let’s think about that for a moment. Don’t we all know, as drivers, that wet pavement is slick and dangerous? Aren’t we all aware that we need to slow down and take care in the various stages of unpredictable Oregon weather?
A few years ago, Forbes ran an article on the most dangerous times to drive. Unsurprisingly, the riskiest times were at night and on weekends.
Another dangerous time to drive is in inclement weather. It’s not so much that the weather sends cars careening off of our roads, but that many drivers simply don’t slow to speeds appropriate for conditions.
The University of California Berkeley’s traffic center noted that speed played the most important role in these crashes. It’s not that drivers were necessarily going above the speed limit, but that they were driving too fast for conditions.
Whether it’s snow or rain or a combination of the two, some drivers ignore weather and refuse to reduce speed.
We don’t know if that was the case in this tragic crash, but it is far too often what happens in accidents involving slippery road conditions.
For those injured in these kinds of motor vehicle accidents, talk over the conditions and circumstances involved with an experienced personal injury attorney.