People often think nostalgically about a tranquil drive down a rural road, looking at the beautiful landscape. It does not sound dangerous and may even sound alluring, especially for someone who rides a motorcycle. Rural roads feel much more peaceful than the chaotic designs of busy city streets.
But if you look just at fatal accident rates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that the rate is three to 10 times higher on rural roads than it is on city streets. This shows that, despite the way it feels to drive on them, rural roads actually carry far greater risks.
2 key reasons
There are many potential reasons why this happens, but one important one to keep in mind is simply the presence of higher speed limits. Many rural roads have speed limits set at 55 miles an hour, for example, while city streets may have limits between 25 and 45 mph.
If two identical accidents happened, but one was at 25 miles an hour, and the other was at 55 mph, fatalities would be much more likely in the accident at higher speeds.
The second thing to note is that many accidents in the city happen relatively close to a major hospital. EMTs can be on the scene in minutes, and a person can get emergency treatment.
On some rural roads, however, the closest hospital may be an hour away. There can be a significant delay in how quickly emergency responders get to the scene, and another delay in transporting any injured victims. This makes it more likely that people will pass away from their injuries.
Your options after an accident
You can certainly suffer serious injuries in an accident on any type of road, but it is important to know about the risks that you face every time you drive. If you are injured due to another person’s negligence, then you need to know how to seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages and other damages.