From shredded tires to a sofa sitting in traffic lanes, roadway debris caused more than 200,000 crashes with 500 deaths over four years across the USA, according to a new report.
About 39,000 people were injured in the crashes from 2011 through 2014, according to the study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
More than one-third of the deaths resulted from a driver swerving to avoid hitting debris, the report said. In other cases, cars struck the debris, sometimes setting off a chain-reaction of collisions.
Jurek Grabowski, the foundation’s research director, said the report documents that crashes that often occur on highways are “extremely dangerous” but also largely preventable.
“Drivers can easily save lives and prevent injuries by securing their loads and taking other simple precautions to prevent items from falling off the vehicle,” Grabowski said.
The report found debris problems worsened from a 2001 study that found 25,000 crashes and less than 100 deaths that year. The latest version found an annual average of 50,000 debris-related crashes reported to police, with 9,800 injuries and 125 deaths during the four most recent years statistics were available.
Debris is a bigger hazard on interstate highways, which tallied about one-third of the debris crashes, the report found.
Bad weather and darkness didn’t play much of a role. Only about one in seven of the debris crashes occurred during adverse weather. The largest portion, about 36% occurred from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The second-largest portion, about 30%, occurred from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Some of the crashes involved relatively common debris, such as striking remnants of a blown tire or fallen branches after a storm. But other examples included a sofa lying in the road, a swing-set in the travel lanes and a boat trailer that detached from its vehicle.
All states have fines for items that fall from a vehicle onto a road, ranging from $10 in Delaware and Wisconsin to $5,000 and a year in prison in Washington state, according to the report. At least 16 states list jail time as a possible punishment.
Tips for securing loads, such as when moving furniture, include tying down items with rope or straps, covering the load with a sturdy tarp and avoiding overloading a vehicle.
Driving defensively, including avoiding tailgating and scanning the road every 12 to 15 seconds for debris, can also help avoid crashes.
“Drivers have a much bigger responsibility when it comes to preventing debris on the roads than most realize,” said Jennifer Ryan, AAA director for state relations.
