After a car accident, the people involved and the police want to figure out which driver (or drivers) was responsible. Sometimes, another factor contributed to the wreck: unsafe road conditions at the crash site.
No matter how carefully someone is driving, they may not be able to overcome insufficient street lighting, blind corners, overly narrow lanes and other design flaws. Just as every driver in Kansas City owes a legal duty to everyone else on the road to drive reasonably safely, state and local governments also have a duty to keep their streets and highways reasonably safe and usable.
Car flipped over at KC intersection
As someone who regularly drives in and around Kansas City, you can probably name several intersections and stretches of road that feel less than safe. The intersection at 37th and Genesse streets appears to be a good example. A crash from late October that caused one of the vehicles to flip upside down was just the latest incident there, according to people who live nearby.
Lack of stop signs to blame?
One resident, who said they have lived at the intersection for seven years, said there are constant car accidents there. There are only stop signs at two points of the intersection, and drivers have to lean far into it to see if cross-traffic is approaching, the resident explained. She and other neighbors think the city should make 37th and Genesse a four-way stop or at least install speed bumps to slow down traffic.
A government entity that fails to construct or maintain safe streets is potentially liable when someone gets hurt in an accident at one of those dangerous sites.
