Where do you feel safest driving? Most people will say that a typical city street or a country road is where they feel the most secure. They do not choose the interstate highway system, especially when they’re young. Many young drivers are intimidated by the highway because it is designed so much differently and everything seems to happen very quickly.
But does feeling safe mean you actually are? It depends on how you look at the accidents that take place.
There are fewer accidents on the interstate
The first thing to know is that the design of the interstate is much different than standard roads because it is safer. When traffic moves in the same direction, accidents are much less likely. The odds of a crash are also lowered because there are no intersections, so traffic lanes never cross.
Of course, this doesn’t mean there are no accidents at all. In some cases, there are wrong-way accidents, and there can also be crashes at on-ramps or off-ramps, when drivers are trying to merge on or off of the interstate.
When these accidents take place, they sometimes have more severe ramifications for the occupants. Injuries can be more serious at higher speeds. It’s also more likely that someone would suffer fatal injuries in a crash at higher speeds.
So the interstate is safer, in that you are less likely to be involved in an accident. But it is also more dangerous, in that you are more likely to suffer serious injuries if that crash does take place. Either way, if you have suffered injuries in an accident caused by the negligence of another driver, then you need to know how to seek financial compensation for medical bills and other costs.