In 2003, The Virginia General Assembly ordered three departments to work together to create a program to combat the occurrence of severe crashes on Virginia’s Highways. The agencies called on to construct the program were the Virginia State Police (VSP), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The goal of the program was to reduce the number of accidents.
I-81 Truck Accident Lawyer~Criteria for a Highway Safety Corridor
To determine if a roadway qualified for the program, researchers used crash data from over 1100 miles of Virginia’s roadways. Specifically, researchers looked for accidents that involved heavy trucks. They also looked for reports from accidents that involved fatalities. Finally, they sought out statistics for overall crash rates per 100 million miles for vehicles. Subsequently, a 15-mile stretch of I-81 between Roanoke and Virginia Tech was selected based on this criteria.
I-81 Truck Accident Lawyer~What does a Highway Safety Corridor mean for Drivers?
When driving on I-81 you may have noticed the signs at mile markers 127 and 142. Drivers who speed within a designated Highway Safety Corridor can incur a fine up to $500. Reckless driving or driving under the influence in these zones can result in fines up to $2500. In Virginia, any speed over 80 mph is considered reckless.
I-81 Truck Accident Lawyer~Are Highway Safety Corridors Effective?
While the total number of crashes has increased since the introduction of the highway safety corridor, the percentage of crashes resulting in severe injuries or death has decreased. Specific data can be found on the VDOT website.
I-81 Truck Accident Lawyer~Ready to Help You
Paul Thomson, an I-81 truck accident lawyer of the Roanoke-based Thomson Law Firm is ready to help you with your truck accident case. If you have been injured or a loved one has been killed by a reckless truck driver, call for a free consultation today. 1-540-777-4900
