Hazardous Road Conditions

Family and friends are mourning a Clay County teen who died when his truck struck a utility pole in Keystone Heights, Saturday night, August 7. Robert Northway, 16 was driving his pickup on County Road 214 when he lost control on a curve in rainy weather. The vehicle rolled over on its left side hitting a utility pole and snapping it in two. His friend, passenger, Kyle Ploe, 17, was treated and released. Northway, a popular Fleming Island High School student was a member of the football team, but this year had planned on joining the wrestling team.

Our prayers are with Northway’s parents for the sudden loss of this fine young man.

Writers to News4Jax say that this curve off Yale Street on 214 is a known danger spot, especially in the rain. If that is the case, anyone who has experienced an accident in this area would be well-advised to contact a Florida auto accident injury attorney to help investigate whether the roadway is in safe condition. Roads are supposed to be graded in such a way that a driver does not slide off the road, even in rainy conditions. There is supposed to be a shoulder that does not drop-off, which can cause drivers to over compensate and lose control.

The steeper the drop-off, the greater the danger.

Hazards are often left unattended with the assumption that “accidents happen” and that is just the way it is. But an investigation into the road conditions can often yield a reason for repeated accidents that is entirely preventable. This is particularly true in construction zones that may have been left in a less than ideal condition, or in a municipality that may be ignoring repeated accidents at the same site.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Florida hazardous road accident, the experienced personal injury attorneys at Farah & Farah might help you find the answers you are looking seeking. Give us a call.

President Barack Obama‘s economic stimulus package is prompting a $27 billion in highway construction. That will mean a lot more construction on our roadways. And while the federal government is focusing safety efforts on speeding, impaired and distracted drivers, they are not making the same attempt to determine when contractors are at fault at work-zone sites that cause accidents.

Tampa Bay Online reports on an accident along I-75 in Florida. Repairing a bridge with $744 in stimulus money, Zep Construction of Fort Myers was awarded a contract to repair a bridge on I-75 in Sarasota two years ago. Zep used a “rolling roadblock.” That means putting police cruisers with flashing lights, and positioning themselves across the highway which has the effect of slowing traffic to about 20 mph. But around midnight, October 1, 2007, traffic slammed on its brakes to keep from crashing. At the back of the line were a father and his 11-year-old son. A big-rig topped the hill and jackknifed crushing the father. His son was pulled from the car, alive. At least 10 people were hurt.

An officer later testified there were no signs warning approaching drivers of the roadblock ahead. Zep had followed virtually none of the procedures detailed by the Florida Transportation Department for Safety.

There are virtually no laws or regulations mandating safety be followed in work zones, and any standards are mandated state to state. That means problem contractors just keep getting hired and dangerous practices remain, including dangerous sharp drop-offs on the side of the road, concrete barriers out of place, obsolete lane markers left unchanged and a lack of signage to signal danger ahead.

Zep and its subcontractors had violated all of the Florida Transportation Department’s procedures for rolling roadblocks such as placing electronic warning signs at least a half-mile ahead. And there were no flaggers at a nearby on-ramp. Police cruiser presence was minimal.

With the $27 billion to go into highway construction, transportation officials need to coordinate with the state to not just focus safety on drivers, but on work zone safety on our highways.

Wednesday afternoon, January 13, a sinkhole opened up in East Hillsborough County, Florida on Interstate- 4 between mile markers 19 and 20. Traffic backed up as the sinkhole opened up about 20 feet off the road. The westbound ramps onto I-4 at Alexander Street and SF 39 in Plant City are closed.

We are thankful that no one was killed in this deadly situation that develops from time to time in Florida. The Florida Department of Transportation’s Tampa office has sent engineers to drill a series of ten to 12 deep holes to fill them with special cement mortar in order to stabilize the roadbed. The road was actually raised up from the swamp in this section of Hillsborough County during the work on I-4 during the late 1990s.

On U.S. Highway 27, the road closed after deputies discovered a sinkhole early Tuesday about a half mile north of CR 640. Deputies on patrol report that they heard a loud crash, the sound of the roadway cracking to form a hole that is now over 50 feet wide by 30 feet and about 20 feet deep.

Near Dover, Florida, several sinkholes have gobbled up portions of a strawberry field. At least three have affected houses and roads in Plant City while another swallowed up homes in the town of Frostproof.

Why all the sinkholes?
University of South Florida geology professor, Mark Stewart, says the chances for sinkholes greatly increases when the temperatures fall and farmers have to use a lot of water to protect their crops from a hard freeze.

Limestone under the ground has holes in it like Swiss cheese. When large amounts of water are pulled from the well, it shifts the water level underground. Normally sand and clay fall into the holes but the downward force can cause the sand and clay to fall quickly leading to sinkholes.

In Plant City, the strawberry capitol, the aquifer has fallen 60 feet since the freeze set in.

It is our hope that motorist are able to avoid sinkholes while driving. Please be alert and on the look-out for sinkholes as well as other obstructions in the road while driving to help keep you and your passengers safe, and to prevent auto accidents in Florida from taking place.

Source:http://www.abcactionnews.com/mostpopular/story/I-4-travel-troubles-to-continue-Thursday/joeYroD-nU2RJI1XdRNi-A.cspx