San Francisco Bay Area Dangerous Roads Attorney
State route 17 is a scenic road that runs through the Santa Cruz mountains. It winds its way through Scotts Valley in the south, all the way to Los Gatos and San Jose in the north. Along the way, however, it presents drivers with a number of hazards – sharp turns, blind spots, narrow shoulders, changes in speed, and slick highway surfaces after rains or snows. A number of sections of SR 17 are notoriously dangerous, earning nicknames like “The Valley of Surprise” or “Big Moody Curve” due to the visible evidence present that so many cars have hit the median along the curves in these sections of the road.
Understanding why State Route 17 is so Dangerous
State route 17 is particularly dangerous because of the number of sharp curves, blind curves, and sudden changes in speed along the road. As a result, drivers sometimes have difficulty negotiating unexpected sharp turns and careen off the median divider along the road. Depending on the time of year, road conditions are made even more hazardous by rain, fog, and snow. As a result, when a car hits the median and spins out of control it often involves other cars resulting in multi-car serious accidents.
Caltrans and Accidents along State Route 17
Given state route 17’s reputation as a dangerous highway, it’s only natural to ask what, if anything, is being done to improve safety along the highway. While Caltrans maintains the road, there are currently no major plans to redesign the most dangerous portions of the road. This raises questions of liability in car accidents caused by road conditions along SR 17.
Depending on the circumstances of a car accident along SR 17, it may be possible to hold Caltrans liable for injuries and fatalities that occur as a result of road design, lack of water drainage, improper signage, obscured signage, lack of reflectors, or an absence of rough road signal a need to reduce speed. Even in cases where a motorist is involved in an accident caused by someone else losing control of their car, dangerous road design may be a contributing factor.
Contact Bay Area Dangerous Road Design Attorneys at Weber & Nierenberg
If you’ve been injured in an accident along SR 17 or along another stretch of dangerous road in the Bay Area, contact San Francisco car accident attorneys at the personal injury law office of Weber & Nierenberg. We can evaluate your case and discuss the best legal options available to you.
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