There is always the risk of serious consequences when you get involved in a motor vehicle accident. This is why it is important to be a defensive driver and do what you can to anticipate the mistakes that other people are going to make. You want to avoid accidents at all costs, and you understand that other drivers are often responsible. Spotting dangerous drivers and keeping your distance decreases your own risks.
But these risks also change depending on where you drive. Interestingly, fatal accidents are more common on rural roads, suggesting the risk is higher there than in the city, even though far more people live in urban areas. Why is it more likely that someone would pass away in a rural accident?
The hospital is much further away
With many serious injuries, medical professionals talk in terms of minutes. Response times really matter. If the hospital is simply 20 miles further away in a rural area than it would be in the city, that’s going to have a detrimental impact on the person’s health. There is not anything that can be done to alleviate this, but all drivers need to understand that this is why the risks are higher on these types of roads.
Other factors
Statistically speaking, you can also look at things like a lack of seat belt use or higher rates of drunk driving. They push the fatality rates up, as do higher speed limits. Even if driving faster is legal, it still means that the odds are higher that an accident will be fatal. Drivers in the city won’t be going as fast even when they are speeding, so they could get involved in more accidents and still not suffer life-threatening injuries because of the lower overall speeds.
These are just a few things that make rural roads more risky, and you face dangers when other drivers make mistakes. But these are activities you can avoid, whereas you cannot change your proximity to a medical center. This means rural roads are always more dangerous, even for safe drivers.
If you’ve lost a loved one in a car accident or been injured yourself, you may be able to seek compensation for your medical bills and other costs.