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Another Teenager Drives Off the Roadway and Is Killed

Matthew Troutman Jan. 7, 2023

 On January 3, 2023, A 17-year-old girl died in Graves County, Kentucky when her vehicle failed to navigate a curve at night on Kentucky Highway 464. The vehicle struck a tree and then went down an embankment. Another sad loss of life of a teenager driving a car. This accident is like a lot of accidents every year in Kentucky and throughout the United States. An inexperienced driver driving without an adult and leaving the roadway in a single car accident. Usually these accidents occur because the driver fails to understand the proper speed for the roadway or the driver becomes distracted by the cell phone or something else.

We Need to Appreciate the Danger Posed by Trees Along Roadways!

If we were driving in the mountains, near water or next to a cliff, we would be more careful and watch our speed. However, we do not have the same appreciation for the danger of driving our car, truck or motorcycle near trees. But the reality is that trees kill more people than water or high elevations. Trees are anchored into the ground and, for the most part, do not move when struck by a vehicle. We would do well to appreciate the danger of running into a tree, especially in Kentucky where we have more trees than other states.

Driving on windy roads with trees at night seem to be a bad combination for drivers. We forget when a curve is coming and do not adjust our speed accordingly and many drive off the roadway. If we appreciated the danger of running into tress like we do other hazards, perhaps we could save some of the lives lost like the teenager in Graves County.

One of the benefits of the memorials people place near the location of an accident where they lost a loved one is that it helps the current drivers appreciate the dangers in that area of the roadway. Many of these memorials are placed next to trees where someone ran off the road and hit the tree. We need these memorials to remind us that trees kill if you fail to stay on the roadway. Perhaps the roadway construction laws should be altered to require removal of trees within 20 yards of the roadway to give people a chance of surviving these accidents.

If we have a greater appreciation for the danger posed by trees along roadways, I believe we would drive at a slower speed and with more attention to the roadway in front of us. For some reason a cliff or water cause us to be more attentive, but trees are no concern at all. I am not sure why that is but we need to change our thinking if we want to see less people killed by running into trees.

Contact Kentucky Auto Accident Lawyer

If you have been injured in an auto accident due to the fault of another, contact Kentucky Auto Accident Lawyer Matthew Troutman to investigate your accident and locate all available evidence to determine liability and to maximize all insurance benefits available to anyone injured or killed in the auto accident. Matthew Troutman, a Kentucky auto accident lawyer, of the Troutman Law Office has been handling auto accident claims, almost exclusively, since 1986 and has the experience and talent to obtain the best result for the victims in a car accident.

If you need legal assistance due to a motor vehicle accident, contact Kentucky auto accident attorney Matthew Troutman directly at 859-696-0001 or 502-648-9507 and he will meet with you in the hospital, your home or wherever is convenient for you. He will give you direct access through his cell phone and guide you through the difficult process necessary to obtain the best result possible for you in your car accident claim. To learn more about the Troutman Law Office, click here.