Car accidents on Rock Hill Road and Conshohocken State Road in Bala Cynwyd usually trace back to how the two roads were built. Both are narrow state roads that bend through wooded residential blocks. The junction where they meet has no left-turn lanes. If another driver’s carelessness hurt you there, Pennsylvania law allows you to seek money for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
At Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer, our Bala Cynwyd car accident lawyers handle collisions on these two roads and the streets that feed them. We know what a missing turn lane does to a driver waiting to cross traffic. This discussion explains where the risk builds and how to protect a claim afterward.
Two State Roads Wind Through Bala Cynwyd’s Wooded Blocks
Rock Hill Road connects Conshohocken State Road to Belmont Avenue, which reaches the Schuylkill Expressway a short distance east. Therefore, two narrow, curving roads carry regional traffic through a residential corner of Montgomery County.
Conshohocken State Road is the local name for Route 23. Route 23 has followed this alignment only since a 1960s realignment that absorbed stretches of two older state routes. PennDOT is planning to rebuild the junction where the two roads meet.
Their curves and their widths were set long before the traffic they handle today. That mismatch drives most of the risk on these roads.
What Makes the Rock Hill Road and Conshohocken State Road Junction Risky in Bala Cynwyd?
The junction is risky because it has no left-turn lanes and its corners are built too tight. PennDOT reaches the same conclusion in its own improvement project for the area.
The plan widens Rock Hill Road and Conshohocken State Road at the approach. The goal is to add left-turn lanes and adequate turning radii. A turning radius is simply how sharply a corner is built, and a tight one forces a delivery van to swing wide.
Route 23 is set to be widened roughly 500 feet in each direction at the same spot. Until that work is done, a driver waiting to turn left has to wait in the travel lane. Traffic behind stops short or swings around it. Crashes at this junction tend to start with a turning car or a driver who loses control.
How Do Blind Curves Cause Crashes on Conshohocken State Road in Bala Cynwyd?
Blind curves cause crashes because a driver cannot see far enough ahead to react. A stopped car, a turning car, or someone at the road edge appears with almost no warning.
What matters on a bend is sight distance, or how much road a driver can see ahead. On these winding, tree-lined roads, that distance is short. A driver has settled on a speed before the road ahead comes into view.
A car waiting to turn left at that junction is easy to miss. An approaching driver sees it late and has little time to stop. Farther along, Montgomery Avenue turns at the sharp curve onto Conshohocken State Road, where in one accident a driver lost control and hit a storefront.
What Happens When a Car Drifts Off Rock Hill Road in Bala Cynwyd?
There is very little room to recover. The residential blocks that these two roads pass through are wooded.
PennDOT reports that vehicles leaving their travel lane cause more deaths and serious injuries in Pennsylvania than any other kind of crash. More than half of the state’s traffic deaths involve this scenario. Two out of three of the most serious lane departures end against a fixed object, such as a tree, a utility pole, or a guiderail.
Trees are on that statewide list, so a driver who leaves the lane on one of these roads faces the hazard those numbers describe. Even a slow run off the road can put someone in the hospital.
Why Do Store Driveways Add Risk on These Bala Cynwyd Roads?
Driveways add risk because a turning car has to slow in a lane where everyone else is still moving. A Wawa sits on Conshohocken State Road. A CVS Pharmacy anchors a small retail cluster farther along Rock Hill Road.
Leaving one of those lots is harder still. A driver at a driveway mouth judges a gap in traffic from two directions. On a curving road, one of those directions bends out of sight. Roadside trees block part of the view that is left.
A gap that looks clear from the driveway can already hold a car inside the bend. What the exiting driver could see can be checked later. Sight lines measured from the driveway show where on the curve an approaching car first appears.
Who Is at Fault for a Crash on Rock Hill Road in Bala Cynwyd?
Usually the driver who made the unsafe move. Most often that means a turn across traffic without a real gap, or a bend taken too fast.
Fault rests on negligence, the failure to use the care a reasonable person would use behind the wheel. Two drivers can share it. Pennsylvania also follows comparative negligence, so you can recover money if the bigger share of the blame is not yours.
The way a road is built does not excuse a driver, although it often explains how a crash happened. Photographs of the corner, the curve, and the vehicle damage show what a driver could actually see.
Our Bala Cynwyd car accident lawyers at Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer look at the road as closely as the vehicles. That evidence often answers an insurer that wants to put the blame on our client.
Frequently Asked Questions About Crashes on Rock Hill Road in Bala Cynwyd
- Whose Insurance Pays After a Collision on These Bala Cynwyd Roads?
The auto policy of the driver who caused the crash is the first place a personal injury claim goes. If that driver was working at the time, in a company car or a delivery van, the employer’s commercial coverage can be pulled in beside it. When the at-fault policy is too small for the injuries, your own underinsured motorist coverage may cover the rest.
- Can a Passenger Bring a Claim After a Bala Cynwyd Crash?
Yes. A passenger is almost never the cause of a crash. A hurt passenger can pursue whichever driver was responsible, including the driver they were riding with, and that driver’s insurance handles the claim.
- Is the Car Repair Claim Separate From the Injury Claim?
Yes. The damage to the vehicle is usually settled on its own, because a repair estimate is easy to price. The injury claim is handled separately and stays open while treatment continues.
In a Crash? Speak With Our Bala Cynwyd Car Accident Lawyers at Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer
If a crash on Rock Hill Road or Conshohocken State Road left you hurt, Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer can review what happened. Our Bala Cynwyd car accident lawyers know how these roads are built and how insurers try to move the blame onto an injured driver. Call 215-985-0138 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Located in Philadelphia, as well as Cherry Hill and Marlton, NJ, we assist clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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