Understanding The Dangers Of Road Debris

Road debris is one of the leading causes of auto accidents in the United States. According to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, road debris mishaps account for 25,000 of all auto accidents and causes 90 deaths in the United States each year.

What is Road Debris?

Road debris refers to the general things that can be found on the road that shouldnt be there. It could range from small things like stones or pebbles, pieces of broken glass, nails, screw, sand, gravel and black ice to bigger things like furniture, tire, metal and sometimes even tree branches or the tree itself. In some cases animals can be considered road debris or a road hazard as well.

Most of the time, road debris accumulates on roads that are not driven to as much. In urban areas, road debris usually collects on the edges of the road and mostly on traffic islands. In rural areas, it tends to collect on the middle of the road and on corners and bends.

Dangers

There are a lot of auto accidents that are caused by road debris. Here are some of the most common:

Puncture

Sharp and pointy objects lying on the street and roads like nails, screws, and shards of broken glass is one of the most common road debris. Since most of these things are very small, it is very difficult to avoid. These kinds of road debris punctures holes on tires and tube tires are most susceptible because it deflates easily.

Skidding

The most common cause of skidding on roads is accumulated sand. It lessens tire traction on the road because of its loose qualities that make the roads slippery.

Another cause of skidding is black ice. Black ice is ice that forms on the road because of fog, rain or mist that accumulated on the road where the process of freezing is slowed as a result of sublimation. The moisture forms a transparent strip that freezes to the ground.

Because it is transparent, it takes the black color of the road, thus the term black ice. It is very difficult to avoid because it is camouflaged and it is much more slippery than normal ice.

It is most common on bridges because of the circulation of air below and above the bridges that causes faster drop in temperature.

Animal Collision

There are nearly 1.5 million car and deer collisions on Unites States highways each year. The high number may be a result of the rapid rise on the population of deer and the development of former wild lands to urban sprawls.

Be Careful

Although most of this road debris is unavoidable, you can still do some things to protect yourself.

Here are some tips to follow to keep yourself safe from road debris and avoid auto accidents:

Slow down on bridges. Since black ice usually forms around bridges, slowing down gives you more control over a vehicle in case you hit a strip of black ice.

Be aware of signs and warnings. Signs like Deer Crossing warn you of the possible dangers on the road and keep you aware of the surroundings.

Do not use tube tires. Tube tires easily deflate if punctured.

Keep a safe distance from other vehicles. In case something falls off from the load of those vehicles, keeping a distance will give you more time to maneuver your car and avoid the road debris.

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