If you were looking to set out on a day trip around West Virginia to take in the scenery, you could choose from one of over 38,000 miles of public roads that wind through the state. Many of those roads are designated as rural. That’s a fancy way of saying “long distance between houses.”
West Virginia has more than 32,000 miles of rural roads that provide amazing scenic views, but some are also considered high-risk routes.
These are some of the more well-traveled rural roads in West Virginia:
- West Virginia Route 2 along the Ohio River
- S. Route 50 between Clarksburg and Grafton
- West Virginia Route 9 between Rock Road and Log Home Drive
- S. Route 119 between Prichard Road and Brown Branch Road
- S. Route 52 between Huntington and Williamson
Of course, if you encounter a reckless driver, any stretch of road can be deemed at risk for a serious accident. Understanding why rural roads are so dangerous can go a long way toward helping you avoid an accident.
Why Are Rural Roads So Dangerous?
Rural roads in West Virginia are prone to crashes for a variety of reasons tied to the terrain, infrastructure, and driver behavior. These are the factors that contribute to that danger:
· Terrain and Road Design
The mountains that make a fall drive so spectacular also produce sharp curves, steep grades and narrow lanes with little or no shoulder. Hills and heavy foliage hide what’s around the next bend or at the next intersection, cutting the time a driver has to react. Many secondary roads add potholes, crumbling asphalt, poor lighting and road slips to the mix.
· Driver Behavior
On an empty rural road, light traffic can feel like permission to put the pedal to the metal, and speed multiplies the force of any collision. Seat belts are part of the story, too. A CDC study found that people in the most rural counties were less likely to buckle up than people in the most urban ones and more likely to be unbelted when they died in a crash. Long, dark stretches of highway invite drowsy driving on top of it all.
· Wildlife Encounters
West Virginia has led the nation in animal collisions for more than a decade, and deer are the usual culprit. State Farm’s latest claims data puts a West Virginia driver’s odds of hitting an animal at 1 in 46 over the past year, against 1 in 145 nationally. Swerving to miss a deer can send a car into oncoming traffic or off the road entirely.
· Commercial and Slow Traffic
Coal and logging trucks share two-lane roads with farm equipment moving at a crawl. Every slow vehicle tempts someone to pass, and every pass on a two-lane road with short sightlines is a gamble.
Delayed Emergency Response Times in Remote Areas
Rural distance also shapes what happens after a crash. A national study published in JAMA Surgery found that ambulance crews typically reached patients about 7 minutes after a 911 call, but rural patients waited roughly twice as long, and nearly 1 in 10 waited almost half an hour. For someone badly hurt on a remote road, those minutes matter. The longer drive to a hospital adds to the wait for treatment.
Determining Liability in Complex Rural Car Accidents
To recover from another driver’s insurance, you have to establish who was at fault. Rural crashes make that harder. There’s rarely a traffic camera, a storefront security system or a crowd of witnesses, so a claim can come down to two drivers with two different stories. The police report carries more weight in those cases, and an accident reconstructionist may be needed to read the skid marks, the vehicle damage and the road itself.
Fault in a rural crash can land in several places:
- Driver negligence: Speeding on unpaved roads, reckless passing, and distracted or impaired driving can all show that a driver broke the duty to drive safely.
- Road conditions: Unmarked intersections, curves without warning signs, potholes and overgrown brush can all contribute to a crash. The state Division of Highways maintains most of West Virginia’s roads, and a claim against the state generally goes to the West Virginia Legislative Claims Commission rather than a regular courtroom, under its own rules.
- Animals: Hitting a wild deer is often no one’s fault. Livestock is different. A farm owner whose broken fencing lets cattle or horses wander onto the road may be responsible for the crash that follows.
West Virginia also weighs your own share of the blame. You can still recover as long as your fault isn’t greater than everyone else’s combined, but your award shrinks by your percentage.
Getting Support from Skilled Legal Counsel
After a crash on a rural road, the insurance claim, the investigation, your injuries and your car repairs can all land on you at once. Handing that load to a car accident attorney can bring real relief.
At DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, our firm represents people hurt in car accidents around Parkersburg and across West Virginia. We gather the evidence that shows who was at fault, and we handle the insurance company while you focus on getting better. Our goal is to keep you informed and guide you toward a fair resolution that gets your life back on track.
It all begins with a free case evaluation, and you won’t pay us anything unless you receive a settlement or award. Call to schedule yours, get your questions answered, and learn what should happen next.
