We've all seen it, a vehicle in front of us in traffic with a load that looks like it could come flying at us at any minute.
A new study confirms that the danger is on the rise: Crashes involving vehicle-related road debris have increased by 40 percent since 2001.
More than 200,000 crashes involved debris on U.S. roadways during the past four years, according to a new study released by the Washington, D.C.-based AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The crashes have resulted in approximately 39,000 injuries and more than 500 deaths between 2011 and 2014.
|Danger on the roads
"This new report shows that road debris can be extremely dangerous but all of these crashes are preventable," said Jurek Grabowski, research director for the foundation. "Drivers can easily save lives and prevent injuries by securing their loads and taking other simple precautions to prevent items from falling off the vehicle."
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Jayleen R. Heft
Jayleen Heft is the digital content editor for PropertyCasualty360.com. Contact her at [email protected].
