AAA Offers Tips for Avoiding Accidents When Running Off the Road

Due to driving inexperience, teenagers are particularly susceptible to fatal roll-over accidents. Too often, teens flip their vehicles after over-correcting when running off the roadway. Many fatal teen crashes are the result of the deadly combination of overcorrection, vehicle rollovers and ejection from the vehicle from not wearing a safety restraint. 

Teenage drivers and their passengers are particularly negligent when it comes to using safety belts. In fact, traffic crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens in Kentucky and throughout the United States. Our Kentucky car accident attorneys have continued to stress the importance of buckling up when traveling in a vehicle on our roadways. 

Now, after too many tragic accidents in KY and across the nation, AAA reminds drivers of the importance of wearing seat belts and of knowing how to control a vehicle if the driver runs off the road. Bringing attention to its brochure “Over the Edge and Back,” AAA notes that “pavement edge drop-off crashes are over twice as likely to be fatal relative to other crashes on similar roads.” 

A roll-over car accident near Bloomfield, KY, just an hour west of Lexington, which claimed the life of one teenager and sent two more to the hospital last week, is an example of tragedy that can result from inexperience behind the wheel. The 17-year-old driver apparently lost control of her car, and the vehicle ran off the edge of the road. The driver overcorrected, crossed into the westbound lanes then ran off the highway. The vehicle flipped several times. The driver and a 15-year-old, who was ejected from the SUV, were listed in serious condition. A 14-year-old passenger was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither the deceased nor the other passenger ejected from the car was wearing a seatbelt. 

AAA offers the following tips for recovering safely after running off the road: 

• Continue to look at the road and steer straight ahead.
• Do not try to steer back onto the roadway too quickly — the speed and “scrubbing” of the tires can result in a crash.
• Do not slam on the brakes — ease off the gas pedal and slow down gradually.
• Before “mounting the pavement” slow to at least 25 mph.
• Once back on the road shoulder, consider stopping and taking some time to calm down.
• Join the flow of traffic once you have room and it is safe to return to the highway.

As a reminder, Kentucky has a primary offense seat belt law that requires the driver to wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt. Law enforcement officers can stop a driver solely for an occupant restraint violation. 

In 2010, there were 760 fatalities on KY highways – nearly half of those deaths (320) were among motorists or passengers who were not wearing a seatbelt. 

Our Kentucky car accident lawyers continue to urge teenagers and all drivers and their passengers to wear a safety belt when riding in a vehicle. Also, continued education on safe driving practices for teens, as well as for our adult drivers, is critical for ensuring our KY highways stay safe.