More car and truck accidents on the Newtown Bypass, why?
Oct 6th, 2008 | By Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. | Category: Blogs, Pennsylvania Injury InformationState Route 332 also known as the Newtown Bypass in Bucks County, PA has been the scene of many car and truck accidents. The Newtown Bypass is a four lane divided highway which circles the Township and Borough of Newtown in lower Bucks County. The road extends from I-95 around to the West side of Newtown to State Route 413.
The Newtown Bypass is the primary road for many commuters to access I-95 on their way to New Jersey or Philadelphia and South. At the same time many people travel to work in the Newtown area due to the many local businesses. Numerous trucks, including quarry trucks filled with stone and gravel use the Newtown bypass to get to Bucks County’s quarries.
As I travel to and from my law office at Saile & Saile LLP, I frequently drive the Newtown Bypass. The road itself is fairly level and has a few long rounded curves. The speed limit on the Newtown Bypass is 55 m.p.h. There are a few traffic lights with large intersections spanning from I-95 through to the Tyler State Park entrance along Rt. 413.
Every week there are several fender benders along the side of the highway. On August 21, 2008 there was a fatal accident involving two cars and a truck in the middle of the night. I do not understand why there are so many car accidents.
During rush hour, both morning and evening, the Newtown Bypass is bumper to bumper with vehicles backed up for a long distance. Certainly these commuters, as all commuters, are in their daily rush. The highway appears to be safe. But why so many accidents? Is it just driver’s carelessness or negligence or is something else causing all of these car accidents?
You have stated there are traffc lights on the highway,… are these lights at crossroads? Are theie also crossroads of the 4 lane highway that are just stop signs, and not lights?
One should be able to argue an in depth study needs to be done to find out why a high number of accidents occure on this stretch of highway,…
and if these studies are not performed, and recoomendations put in place,…. it would probably be possible to file a law suit against the State or County,……
what one would probably have to do is get all the accident reports for this strecxtch of highway for the last 10 years, request and even subpeana all the accident investigations, police notes, and all studies,…
then pour over it with a fine tooth comb, and have traffic experts look at it, and try to determine what the underlying causes are,…
then make an argument the State needed to do something long ago, and only through the State’s negligence did a high amonut of accidents continue to occur, putting every driver at risk of injury, and that many injuries and deaths have occured that could have been prevented if an attempt was made ny the State or County.
Sometimes even signs that say, dangerous roadway,. drive carefully, and more police presence may have been enough,…. but it may be something more, like improper functioning of stop lights, or stop signs where lights need to be, or just simply no yield signs or stop signs in place at these accident areas.
It is a good case to start out to invesitgate,…
obvuiosly, the State and County have dropped the ball….
even signs that say agressive driving is against the law, and include the phone number to call if someone sees an agressive driver, like they have in nj.
I have not been on the highway you are talking about, but from the description, i picture it like rt 18 in nj, from old bridge to new brunswick,…
trt 18 is a major commuter hughway, that stretch, which i traveled more that 11 years on my life in the morning on the way to work, when i worked up their in the area,….. i traveled that entire length, … old bridge through new brunswick, it is bumper to bumper in the morning, with a lot of lights, and comes up to the interchange to the nj turnpike, on the boarder of east brunswick and new brunswick…
the fact is there are a lot of accident on rt 18 at commute time, from fender benders to more serious collisions,…..
and over the course of time, especially after 911, for whatever reason, there has been alot more police on the highway, both north and south, and alot more signs warning of speed, danger, agressive drivers,…. all that,…
and as commuters saw this increase in protection,…. accidents i think went down,.. as it is usually the same people, commericial or private, driving the road,… and everyone wants to get to work on time, and accidents slow everything to a stand still.
( that is just one aspect of it)
signs that say speed checked by radar is another good step to take….. or dangerous curve ahead, .. or signs alerting drivers there is a merging lane…. all of these things.
maybe overpasses need to be built instead of lights and stop signs,..
rt 18 has had many overpasses under construction for the past 8 years,…. and it will help prevent accidents i am sure…. prevent bumper to bumper stop an d go traffic,….
and talking about accidents occuring at night,….. and although i am not sure i agree with road blocks,…. again, if we stand with the us supreme court, than certainly the State and County could legally be having periodic roadblocks to increase saftey to all drivers,….. and in this sense, it could be a major factor in determing if the State or County did anything to try toi prevent a high accident rate on this highway,…
and i doubt they can argue that having roadblocks doesnt help saftey, since that was the arguement used to convince the us supreme court they are needed,…
situations like this, that come back to bite the States on the ass are interesting,.. however, i do feel bad for all those ijured in car accidents, and those injured onb this highway, .. so to say it is interesting, is not doing justice to those catostropically injured on this highway, or any highway.
Mr. Saile has identified a problem ,in this law blog website,…… to us,..
but i am sure that the local government of this stretch of highway is well aware of the high accident rate, as well are those that live near the highway,….
maybe friends of family have been injured on this highway,… or maybe your commute to work has been slowed by an hour due to accidents, .. or maybe you just were a driver or pedestrian, that have witnessed an accident, or witnessed the after math of an accident…
whatever the case, i am sure it is common knowledge that there is a high accident rate on this stretch of highway, or the blog entry would have never been made….
now, .. i understand there is a money issue with the State and County,… however, there is always money to solve serious problems, especially when it comes to public saftey,…. and even FEDERAL HIGHHWAY MONIES ….
when a serious public saftey issue is uncovered , and brought to light, the burden is on the State to do something about it,…..
this a fundamental basic function of government,….. and if through an invesigation, it is determined the problem was ignored, .. then the State can and should be sued to not only compensate for people injured already, where the accidents were not their fault,.. but for action to be taken to prevent accidents,.. like securing federal funds to build over passes.
i think matters like this can be brought to light, and action take place through a law suit.
people are generally not going to do anything about any issue like this, unless a law suit is brought against the State.
Maybe the parties of this fatal car accident that occured on Agust 21st 2008, can bring a law suit against the State,……
Neither private citizens nor law makers are going to do anything about it,… generally, they do not have the time, money, or interest to take action…
People are so inundated with a myriad of problems, both public and private matters,… that unless a law suit is brought, probably nother will ever be done to curtail the number of accidents on this stretch of highway.
I am not sure what to think of this delema,… because we have a population base of near 300 million people in this nation,…. yet people are so consumed with what affects them, and their lives,…. and we are conditioned to be apathetic, or conditioned to put blinders on,…. that nothing ever gets done…. and i think this goes all the way from our local neighborhoods to national security issues.
on a side note, … I recieved a call from the McCaine campainge on saturday, and I asked them how did we go from our federal government owing communist china zero dollars in the year 2000, to our federal government owing communist china a trillion dollars, for which the money was spent on basic gfovernmen t functions like the salaries of congress…
you know what answer i got from the caller….. she told me to put blinders on to this issue..
i can not put blinders on, because it is a national security issue,….. in many many ways,… and i can detail why,… and you can think of reasons yourself, it is not a good thing our federal government owes communist china a trillion dollars.
but thgis is the point,…. it would drive individuals insane if they do not put blinders on,…. we must rely on the government to protect us,.. but how can we,… when we only get protection when action is taken through a law suit?
you see my point…. our nation is sick, .. and the apathy by the State of Pennsylvania to this stretch of highway is just one of a billion examples….
i must admitt, i do not know for sure if the State of Pennsylvanis is apathetic to the accidents on this stretch of highway,.. but i take this possible stance because of the initial blog entry posted.
If Mr. Saile is questioning “why” are an inordinate amount of accidents occuring, certainly it can be looked at that no answers to why are appearant.
In order to find out why, an attorney in one of these accident cases probably needs to take it to trial, to get it all out in the open, to invest a serious amount of time and money into it,…. and not take a settlement that would cover up the causes, ….
a jury settlement may cause the State some serious money,…. but at least than action would need to be taken to prevent more huge jury awards against the State,.. and at the same time, preventing the accidents and catostrophic injuries that affect the lives of mony, the healthcare system, insurance companies,….. and ensuring the saftey of everyone that drives that stretch of highway, to the highest degree the State can.
there are a number of ways to think about this…
taking into account everything i have already wrote,… and if it is true that the State has not made studies, and taken some or all of the suugestion that i have outlined,.. as these are the normal things States do to protect saftey on highways,….
.. one can argue, that on some level of philosophical and moral ground, but not legal ground, that the fact no attorney has ever taken this issue to trial against the State, is an underlying cause for the accidents to be continuing….
it is not a legal argument here in this post, but it is an academic philosophical arguement, and again goes to some level of apathy and self interest, which i descibed in posts above….
but i do want to stress that from a legal standpoint, from a free people and their government standpoint,… the our government should take action without a law suit being brought.
so we come full circle as to “why” several accidents a week occur on this strtetch of highway….
i think their is blame all around, but the burden , in my opinion, is still on the State,… from any angle,….. angles that go from the narrow points of saftey and law, and government functions, .. to the overall philosophy of the united states, and why people are apathetic,….
now, as a hypothetical situation, it may very well be that law makers were out-voted on funding for the strech of highway, . or that local State officials ( State in terms of not courts or legislature) decided not to put money into better traffic signs, more traffic signs, like the big green ones,.. studies of length of red lights,… overpasses being built, more police , and roadblocks,….etc…
however, this is why we have courts, is it not? for the courts to look at everything, and decide if the people’s interests and saftey are being satisfied, and the law is being protected at the same time.
the courts are our last line of defense against a legislature that does not protect a citizenry, or a State that does not protect its’ citizens,…
am i too much of an idealist to belive that we have 3 seperate branches of government that need to act independantly, and in conjuction, through checks and balances to each other?
this was the education the State gave me k-12.
i am looking for signs in everything i read on websites, …. to see if the united states is still the republic democracy that was set up in the constitution, …. and i really can not find any…
what i find in every story i read , in everything goverment and our lives, is that somehow the 3 branches of government have becaome mashed together into one branch, …..
and i really truly do want to see signs that our government has not broken down into this mishmash of politics,…… but i can not see one….
a jury verdict against the State of PAENNSYLVANIA, IN THE FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE STRETCH OF HIGHWAY, IF IT IS SO DETERMINED THE STATE TOOK NO ACTION FOR A DECADE OR MORE,… AND THE FACT THAT A JUDGE LET IT GO TO A JURY, EVEN THOUGH A VERDICT WOULD TAKE SALARY OUT OF HIS POCKET, PROBABLY, IN SOME WAY,… WOULD BE A GREAT THING FOR MY PSYCHE,.. but would also be a sign that america is not dead, that we still have 3 branches of government.
What no one seems to understand is that the dump trucks 95% of the time travel 10-20 mph OVER the speed limit. Now a fully loaded truck can weigh from 60 to 80 tons–pretty tough to stop quickly wouldn’t you say? These truckers get paid by the load so the faster they can go the more money they make. The quarries take NO responsibility for the drivers since they are subcontracted so this frees the quarries from any liability, at least that’s their mantra. Many of these truck drivers have little regard for traffic other than how quickly can they get thru or around it. Even when weather is bad, i.e. heavy rains which causes tremendous backsplash to vehicles behind them and next to them, the truckers do not slow down. And NO ONE seems to care, not the townships, not the police, NO ONE!!!! There will be more fatalities not just on this road but on others as well since there are more and more quarry trucks running every day–most of them from NJ. These drivers don’t worry about speed since they know the police won’t do much if anything about it and the townships refuse to do anything either. It’s not going to get any better–it’s only going to get worse and there will be more fatalities so until people understand that they need to get together and seek some legal recourse….NOTHING will change.
Anne:
I agree with you. I guess when the rocks from the quarrys run out that is when we will get a break.
I witnessed one of these trucks dump gravel all over the road and another car behind the truck. The driver of the car tried numerous times to stop the truck but the trucker ignored him.
I, myself got the name and license plate of the quarry truck and reported it to the Newtown, PA police. They took my report. I dont think they did anything with my report. I was not contacted after that point.
No surprise there relative to the Newtown police. I’ve tailed these trucks going down the hills on Swamp Rd. at 60-65 mph. I have yet to see any of them get stopped for anything. Half the time they are in the middle of the road because they are traveling so fast. As of the last week they are now running on WMR at nite ALL nite long. I was over at the police station today but of course the officer in charge wasn’t there. I’m going to try again tomorrow. These truck drivers take advantage of driving at nite and they are moving……I’ve tailed them on WMR doing 50-55 mph fully loaded. Pretty dangerous stuff on this road. I’m also working on finding some talking heads in Harrisburg to see if anything at all can be done about this problem. There has to be something we can do to resolve this problem before there are new fatalities. WMR and Swamp Rd. are expressways for the trucks and they definitely utilize them as such. Regular drivers are following suit and speeding as well. I have gotten some really good videos of trucks/cars at the stop sign on WMR & Swamp Rd……pretty scary stuff. Also have statistics on numbers of trucks in hourly increments and it is rapidly increasing. I realize that folks have to work and make a living but at what price to everyone else???
Anne
I was just a victim of an accident on this stretch of highway, and I do believe that the timing of the traffic lights is a big part of the problem. Some times 5-6 cars get through the intersection and other times 2 cars on the light is red before the third car gets through. As a driver who travels this intersection multiple times per day, how am I supposed to know when that light is going to change? I was behind a school bus the day of my accident, which was the 2 car lengths that got through the light.. I unfortunately was the third car that did not get through the intersection.
I am going to court to fight the points on my license, and hopefully get my point across that the timing of this light needs to be seriously looked at before someone else gets hurt or killed.
Beth,
I completely agree. I travel down the Newtown Bypass at least twice a day. The yellow/orange part of the light is extremely short, especially for people traveling at 55 m.p.h. This is one of the reasons for the numerous car accidents on the Newtown Bypass.
Another reason for the auto accidents on the Newtown Bypass is because aggressive driving such as when drivers weave in and out of traffic in a rush to get to work. Finally, cell phone use and texting is causing many accidents on the Newtown Bypass. I see people using their phones everyday while NOT paying attention to the road and traffic.
Thank you for your comment.
I travel this road everyday and I can say the 2 biggest problems with this road are 1. the amount of traffic lights and their timing, and 2. drivers not respecting the “keep right, pass left” rule. As stated previously, instead of having an amber light of 5.5 seconds (55mph divided by 10) as it is in many other places namely, New Jersey, it is very quick, perhaps 2.5 seconds. Because of this people SLAM on their breaks because they are terrified of going through an amber light. This is similar to the accidents caused by red light cameras, however in this case there is no justification as cops are rarely around and would most likely side with going through a yellow light than slamming on the brakes causing the ever-so-common 332 rear-end collision. Also, drivers in the passing lane try to “time” the lights but in the opposite direction, i.e. they don’t even bother reaching the speed limit b/c they think the next light will be red and in doing so, fulfill the prophecy. In fact, if you go 55 or 60 you will make the next light, but most people do not do this. Secondly, people ignore the fact this is a state highway. It is indicated at the traffic lights that this road is a “divided highway”, however people sit in the left lane for miles before they make their turn. For example, they will come off of 95, get on the bypass going west and sit in the passing lane because they are going to turn left onto 532 or Richboro Rd. If you notice, the right lane is ALWAYS faster b/c everyone clogs up the left lane instead of staying to the right and changing lanes when they get closer to their turn. This is a sign of unskilled or lazy driving but is difficult to enforce. In short, I hate this road and I wish they had made overpasses instead of traffic lights.