Can Road Closures Increase Accident Risks?

 Posted on March 25, 2025 in Personal Injury

Specific sections of California roadways can be temporarily closed for many reasons. Road construction, accident scenes, and public events on downtown streets are a few reasons for closures. While requiring detours is sometimes necessary, closing roads to traffic may increase the chances of accidents. Understanding the risks may keep you safer.

If you are injured in a car crash, our dedicated South Bay Area, CA personal injury attorney can help. We will investigate your accident, find out who was responsible, and work to get the best possible results for your insurance claim.

How Are Road Closures Dangerous?

People like routines. They expect to get into their car, travel a familiar route, experience minimal delays, and get to their destinations safely. If the road they expect to take is temporarily closed, several things can disrupt the routine and increase accident risks, including:

• Drivers who are unfamiliar with the roads they must take in a detour may be nervous and make driving errors.

• Detours often mean increased traffic flow on streets that are not designed to host so many vehicles at once.

• Road closures often cause traffic delays, which can lead to road rage, distracted driving, tailgating, and speeding to make up for lost time.

• Distracted drivers may not notice an upcoming road closure and might continue into the restricted area, slam on their brakes and cause a rear-end collision, or swerve directly into oncoming traffic.

• Overnight road closures, like the ones for the current SR-87 project, can add danger because drivers may be more fatigued and driving in unknown areas in the dark can add significant stress.

• Rubbernecking, which is staring in hopes of seeing an accident, is a definite distraction. Drivers who are diverted through detours may pay more attention to trying to see the cause of the detour than driving safely.

How Can a Lawyer Help After My Car Accident?

Most car accident cases are based on being able to prove that someone else’s negligent behavior caused your crash. Collisions associated with road closures may involve driver errors, like distracted or impaired driving, following too closely, and driving too fast for conditions. Inadequate signage or other forms of traffic control could also contribute to these crashes, potentially making a government agency liable.

Your attorney will investigate to find out why your accident happened. The results of our investigation should reveal who was responsible for causing it. We can then help you with your insurance claim. The insurance company will probably try to pay you as little as possible, or they could even deny your claim. We will not let a greedy insurer take advantage of you. Instead, we will fight to help you collect the highest possible amount of compensation.

Call Our Knowledgeable San Jose, CA Car Accident Lawyer

Our Santa Clara County, CA personal injury attorney has over 45 years of experience winning cases similar to yours. We are here to help with yours. Contact Law Office of John J. Garvey, III online or by calling 408-293-7777 to arrange for your complimentary case review today.