Traditionally, motorists in small towns and rural areas don't perceive the risk of being in a crash as high. And compared to exposure rates of driving in urban areas with high volumes of traffic, they're right!
But when a crash does occur, the risk of injury is just as great whether you're on a lonely farm road or a 10-lane metropolitan freeway. In many ways the risk of injury is greater. On two-lane roads, high speed head-on collisions, the deadliest of all crashes, are more common on rural highways than on urban freeways or rural interstate highways.
A key to safe driving on rural roads is not to exceed the posted speed limit. On average, around 387,500 motor vehicle crashes occur each year on Ohio's roadways.
Here are a few tips for driving on rural roads:
- Rural roads are usually narrower than city streets. Drivers should take extra caution on rural roads where there are sharp turns, dips, and blind corners shaded by woods or fields.
- Learn to share the road with slow-moving vehicles like farm equipment and horse-drawn buggies.
- If you see a horse-drawn vehicle or slow-moving farm equipment in your path, slow down and prepare to pass with caution. Only pass when legal and safe. When passing on the left, the requires drivers to sound the horn to warn the driver that he is about to be passed; signal the intent to pass; pass to the left of the vehicle at a safe distance and return to the right side of the roadway only after your vehicle is safely clear of the vehicle you are passing; return to the right lane as soon as the pass has been safely completed and before coming withing 200 feet of any approaching vehicle.
- Always allow enough stopping distance between you and other vehicles.
- Remember that gravel roads have less traction, so applying the brakes hard or turning sharply may cause your vehicle to skid.
- Always allow enough stopping distance
- When driving in the snow, do everything slowly and gently. Even if you maintain control of your vehicle, not everyone else will. Do not get lulled into a false sense of security. Remember, in the snow, tires just barely grab the road. Accelerate, turn and brake slowly and gently. To do this, you have to anticipate turns and stops, slow down enough to make turns before your get to them, and leave plenty of distance between you and the other vehicles.
DEER CROSSINGS
With more than 31,000 motor vehicle collisions with deer reported statewide each year, safety advocates are urging motorists to drive with extra caution.
According to the Ohio Division of Wildlife, fall and winter are the peak seasons for deer-related crashes. More than a half million drivers are involved in crashes caused by deer. The fall is the height of Ohio's deer breeding season, so deer movement increases. November is the peak month, when the highest number of deer-vehicle collisions usually occurs.
Here are steps motorists can take to minimize their risks:
- Drive with extreme caution in areas with deer-crossing signs
- Highest-risk periods are from sunset to midnight, followed by the hours shortly before and after sunrise.
- If you see one deer on or near a roadway, expect that others may follow.
- After dark, use high-beams when there is no opposing traffic.
- Always wear your safety belt. If a collision with a deer seems imminent, focus on maintaining full control of your vehicle. The alternative could be even worse.