A lack of proper lighting on roadways in many urban areas and heavily traveled freeways can be highly dangerous to navigate at night. Without adequate lighting, pedestrians and motorists would certainly face many more challenges sharing Mississippi roadways without injury or death occurring.
The purpose of roadway lighting is to promote the safe movement of drivers and pedestrians at night so as to avoid accidents. Vehicle lights often are inadequate for drivers to safely navigate their surroundings or provide sufficient aid in avoiding collisions. When roadway lighting is proper, it enables motorists and pedestrians to see quickly, distinctly and with certainty all significant obstacles and the road alignment ahead.
Inadequate lighting can cause Mississippi auto accidents because drivers are unable to see blind curves, bad grading on roads, a lack of barriers in the center or on the sides of the road, steep shoulders and unlit intersections. Poorly lit rural roads are the site of 60 percent of fatal accidents in our country. Lighting that is used on roads can be broken down into 4 separate categories:
- High-Mount Lighting: These fixtures are designed to illuminate the sidewalks and streets of an area and are normally about 20-30 feet tall.
- Medium-Mount Lighting: These fixtures are designed to help illuminate sidewalks at even a closer level. They are normally about 8-15 feet tall. They are usually decorative and fit in with the design of the local area.
- Low-Mount Lighting: These fixtures are designed to caution people regarding a specific obstruction or potential hazard and illuminate areas of interest on the street.
- Focal Point Lighting: These are fixtures that illuminate special points of interest. They light up works of art or billboards.
Inadequate lighting that is common in rural stretches of roadway can result in car accidents that cause catastrophic injury or wrongful death. Despite a far lower volume of traffic in rural areas, these less traveled road typically have much higher auto accident rates in Mississippi and throughout the U.S. These roads often have long dark stretches with virtually no lighting. The lack of traffic and residential or commercial development can make these areas completely absent of lighting that permits drivers to navigate upcoming curves or obstructions in the roadway. This complete lack of lighting also creates a substantial risk of trip and fall accidents for pedestrians.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident that was due to inadequate lighting on the roadway, we invite you to call our Mississippi personal injury law office today. Public entities may be responsible for a lack of proper lighting. Our experienced Mississippi car accident lawyers conduct a thorough investigation of our clients’ Mississippi car accident cases to identify all possible negligent parties including other drivers, public entities and defective vehicle manufacturers.
Our origins fighting for the rights of Mississippi car accident victims were established in 1933. If you or your loved ones have been injured in a Mississippi car accident or your loved one has been the victim of wrongful death, we offer a free case evaluation so call Barrett Law Office PLLC at 662-834-2376.