4 Vehicle Rollover Crash Snarls Traffic On I-5
It’s fall in the Pacific Northwest and that inevitably means more rain and wet roads. Rainy and wet road conditions can increase the risk of a crash including vehicle rollover occurrences. According to the Federal Highway Administration, 74 percent of all weather-related car accidents happen on wet pavement and 46 percent happen during rainfall. For comparison, 12 percent of weather-related accidents occur on icy roads while 14 percent occur on the snowy or slushy pavement. That means that wet roads contribute to five times as many car accidents as icy or snowy road conditions.
One of the biggest factors in the danger of wet roads versus icy or snowy roads is driving behaviors; drivers are more likely to slow down and leave extra space between vehicles when they know that roads are icy versus when they are wet. What drivers need to know is that it takes about three times longer to brake on wet roads than on dry roads so we should be slowing down in the rain or after a rainfall. An accident that happened in Bellingham yesterday afternoon may have been worsened by the wet roadway.
4 Vehicle Rollover Crash Results in Gridlock Traffic On I-5
As reported by kgmi.com, a rollover crash on I-5 yesterday caused a chain reaction accident when three more vehicles crashed along the wet roadway as they came up to the vehicle on its side. Firefighters were called to the scene of the accident. According to a tweet by Washington State Patrol Officer Rocky Oliphant, a car lost control when it tried to merge onto I-5 Northbound around 1:30 p.m. and then rolled over before coming to a stop. The crash blocked the off-ramp to Iowa and State Streets with southbound traffic stopped beyond Sunset Drive for over an hour.
As reported by the Bellinghamherald.com in unconfirmed emergency broadcasts made at the time of the accident, firefighters said two patients needed to be taken to the hospital with injuries, one of them with advanced life support.
What is a rollover crash?
A rollover crash is when a vehicle crashes into something and then rolls over at least once before coming to a stop. Rollover crashes have a very high fatality rate compared to other types of crashes. Supported by data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are six main factors that contribute to the risk of vehicle rollover accidents. These are:
- The type of vehicle (SUVs and vans are more susceptible)
- Driving on rural roads (because they lack clear divisions and barriers that reduce the risk)
- Driving while intoxicated
- Driving at high speeds
- Routine driving
- Single-vehicle crashes
While we don’t have many details about the crash, we do know that the driver lost control of their vehicle while trying to merge onto the freeway. Vehicles traveling at high speeds may have more difficulty navigating roadways. In this case, the wet roadway may have been a factor in the additional three vehicles crashing.
Seek the help of a car accident attorney
If you or a loved one was injured in a collision because of the negligence of another, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights. Let an experienced car accident attorney fight for the full compensation that you deserve. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from an insurance company that is five to ten times larger with the help of a lawyer. Call the personal injury lawyers at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Bellingham, WA today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County, and Snohomish County since 1979. You will pay nothing upfront and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
