Rural Roads Deadlier than Expressways
Associated Press (New sday August 16, 2001)
More Americans are killed on coral roads than crowded urban expressways, even though
the two-lanes carry less traffic. The rural roads also receive less federal money: "Roads owned by local
governments don't seem to be getting their share of Federal Highway dollars, even though statistics point out
that those roads tend to have a higher rate of fatalities." [Bob Fogel, National Associations of
Counties].
Local rural roads recorded 4758 deaths - a rate of 3.79 per hundred million vehicle miles
traveled - compared with 1354 deaths along urban freeways, a rate of .79 per hundred *million miles.
Numbers covering all of the nation's streets, roads and highways show the same trend, the G.A.O.
reported.
"One reason for the higher fatalities is that motorists drive fast on those twolane rural roads, said
Lindsay Griffin, Texas Transportation Institute..." "You may not have as much traffic but you may have
higher traveling speeds", Griffin Said.
Also, these roads often aren't built to modem safety standards. The lanes may be narrower, and there
is no median to separate oncoming traffic and some rural roads are being used as commuter routes as
suburban sprawl moves further out from central cities and congestion on major highways increases.
Urban roads are where the heaviest travel is occurring and they are getting beaten up more [Frank.
Moretti director Road Info Program]. It costs a lot more to repair an urban highway than a rural road, especially
because more work is done at night and in congested areas and because land for widening is more expensive.
Moretti said.