Car accidents can cause serious property damage and injuries, and are often caused by distracted or intoxicated drivers. However, some car accidents are caused by bad weather. For example, Nashville, TN gets a lot of heavy rain and is prone to hurricanes, so driving in the spring can be especially dangerous.
Weather variables can have a serious impact on a driver’s ability to maintain control of their vehicle. For example, wind, rain, snow, and dust can all impact visibility, while wet roads and puddles can cause drivers to lose control.
Throughout the last 200 years, weather-related vehicle accidents have been the catalyst for innovations in road design, even dating back to when the first guard rails became a requirement around 1900. Although early road improvements have been greatly improved over time, each step has played a crucial role in improving road safety.
It began in the early 1900s with drainage systems
It’s hard to imagine driving on a road that doesn’t drain water, and instead, completely floods when it rains. This was the reality for drivers in the early 1900s – until road drainage systems were implemented in response to flood-related accidents.
Todays roads still flood periodically, but it takes an incredibly harsh storm for that to happen. With normal rain, roads don’t flood like they used to, and that’s contributed to preventing a lot of accidents.
Guard rails began with horse and buggy travel
Vermont was one of the first states to require guardrails in 1899, when the state passed an act requiring towns to place guards or railings at dangerous places on public highways to protect horse-drawn carriages from running down an embankment.
When Henry Ford’s motor vehicles started to become popular, the increase in speed was a major concern for safety. This caused more states to build guard rails in dangerous areas at a rapid pace. However, the early guardrails didn’t always do a good job of absorbing the impact without breaking.
In 1933, the Highway Guard Rail was patented by Samuel R. Garner with a design that made the railing slide on the posts to absorb the impact of a vehicle. After that, more guard rail designs were created using steel railings with W-shaped cross-sections for extra strength. These guard rails were much better at keeping cars from going over.
Paved roads made driving much safer
If you’ve ever driven on a pure dirt road or gravel road, you know how dangerous it can be to drive when it’s wet, muddy, or flooded. Mud can be deceptively deep, and with the right soil conditions, even a large van or truck can sink up to the wheel wells quite easily. Even gravel can be dangerous when it’s dry, and driving too fast can cause skidding and rolling.
Roads have been paved with a variety of materials over the years, including stones, tar, and asphalt concrete. Some asphalt cements are made with special polymers to increase stability while avoiding cracking.
While some roads remain made of dirt and gravel, the roads in general are still much safer because they no longer make up the main routes. Gravel and dirt roads are also specifically designed for drainage. The middle of the road is raised significantly higher than the sides, which encourages water to drain and run downhill rather than pooling in the middle of the road.
Reflectors and reflective paint improved visibility
After nearly crashing his car on his way home on a foggy night, Percy Shaw invented the first road reflector he called “cat’s eyes.”
Sometime around the 1950s, reflectors became a common addition to the roads to help drivers see the edge of the road at night. These reflectors also increase daytime visibility by shaping the road edge. Reflective paint was also implemented to increase visibility.
Heated surfaces
Many bridges now have heated surfaces to prevent ice from forming. Ice and especially black ice are dangerous anywhere, but losing control of a vehicle because of ice is even more dangerous on a bridge.
Weather monitoring systems give warning
In some areas, there are sensors installed within the road infrastructure to monitor weather conditions. This makes it possible to give drivers a heads up regarding real-time road conditions and help them avoid accidents by staying off the roads if possible.
New innovations will create a safer tomorrow
The evolution of road design is an ongoing process, and new innovations will continue to improve driver safety far into the future. As weather patterns change, cities can draw on existing technology to implement solutions quickly, saving countless lives in the process.