If asked where the majority of fatal car crashes happen, most people would probably guess that the worst crashes happen on the heavily-traveled interstates and multiple-lane highways. Not so, according to a study done on 2008 crash statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The study, reported in the USA Today article entitled "More Motorists Die on Rural Roads" showed that 56% of the crashes in the U.S. happened on rural roads, while only 23% of the nation's population lives in rural areas. The study also broke down the information for each state and Missouri's percentage of crashes occurring on rural roads was much higher, tallying up at 63% of all crashes in the state.
There are several reasons rural roads are more dangerous than highways. Many people drive considerably faster on rural roads. People are also more likely not to use a seat belt and to drive drunk on rural roads, both contributing to the danger. It is also a contributing factor that medical care takes longer to arrive on scene in rural areas.
It is costly to make the physical changes to the rural roadways to widen them or straighten the many twists and turns. But many states are trying to do what they can to make driving safer, Missouri included. Leanna Depue, the director of the Highway Safety Division of the Missouri State Department of Transportation says Missouri has added rumble strips to more than 5,500 miles of highways in Missouri. They're also campaigning to increase rural seat-belt usage.
