Charpentier Law Firm Blog

 According to a February 22, 2008 article by The Hometown News (a local Brevard County newspaper circulated in Cocoa, Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral & Cocoa Beach) Guard rails are not the cure all when it comes to traffic crashes along Interstate 95.  According to the newspaper article, while the existence of guardrails on Interstate 95 medians could reduce the number of crossover vehicle accidents, they probable won’t decrease the overall number of crashes.  At least that is the opinion of Steve Homan, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 5 (Central Florida).  Mr. Homan and his agency are overseeing the widening of Interstate 95 from four lanes to six lanes along the stretch contained in Brevard County.  According to the article, this road work is being paid for with federal and Florida state gas-tax revenue and includes the placement of double sided, steel guardrails, the standard height of which is approximately three feet.  Mr. Homan went on to state that “guardrails should reduce the amount of crossovers, but they will end up causing more crashes because they deflect vehicles.  Although a vehicle will collide with the guardrails instead of another vehicle,  the number of accidents (overall) will not be reduced.”