Dangerous Roads in Ohio

Auto Accident Attorneys

Rural roads are dangerous, with almost two-thirds of fatalities occurring on rural roads. Fatalities are 2.75 times higher on rural roads than on other roads. Some road dangers that can happen on Ohio rural roads are:

• Unsafe intersections
• Unsafe passing lanes
• Lack of highway safety crossing features
• Roadside obstacles
• Inadequate signage and pavement markings
• Lack of warning devices for high traffic or accident potential
• The need to install guard rails or barriers especially as they pertain to work zones

Ohio has a highly developed network of roads and interstate highways. Ohio's neighbors are Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Ontario Canada, to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky to the south, and West Virginia on the southeast.

Have you or a family member suffered a serious injury or wrongful death on a dangerous Ohio road? If yes, please contact the Ohio personal injury attorneys who will be there to help you and your family every step of the way.

Dangerous Ohio Roads

Dead Man's Curve is the unofficial but commonly used name given to hazardous curves on Interstates and other roads that have claimed lives due to accidents.

The most famous dangerous curve is the nearly 90-degree turn on I-90 near downtown Cleveland at the point where the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway connects to the Innerbelt Freeway just south of Burke Lakefront Airport. The advisory speed is 35 miles per hour although the maximum safe speed limit is 50 mph, as on adjacent sections of the Shoreway and Innerbelt.

According to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the crash rate on the Innerbelt (which includes Dead Man's Curve) is two to three times the regional average for urban freeways, despite the reduced speed limits on the roadway. According to a 2003 ODOT count, 95,090 vehicles travel on the curve every day. The official ODOT name for the curve is the Innerbelt Curve.

Other dangerous roads in Ohio also perceived as Dead Man's curves are:

• Sharp bend in U.S. Route 50 (Columbia Parkway) east of Cincinnati
• Sharp turn on I-75 just north of downtown Dayton

There are 38 U.S. routes in Ohio. The Ohio Turnpike is a 241.26 mile toll highway running as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Ohio has many interstate roads; they are:

• Interstate 70 (I-70) provides access between Indiana and West Virginia.
• In Cincinnati, Interstate 71 (I-71) splits immediately from I-75 and heads due east onto Fort Washington Way, where it continues through downtown Cincinnati concurrently with US-50 for less than a mile. Just east of downtown, US-50 splits from I-71 and continues east; I-71 bends north and receives Interstate 471, a spur from southeast of the city. I-71 then heads in a general northeast direction through urban Cincinnati and into its surrounding suburbs.
• Interstate 74 (I-74) provides access between Indiana and Interstate 75.
• Interstate 75 runs from Cincinnati to Toledo by way of Dayton. I-75 enters Ohio concurrent with Interstate 71 from Kentucky on the Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River and into the Bluegrass region. I-75 continues north into the Miami Valley and then passes through the Great Black Swamp before crossing into Michigan.
• Interstate 76 runs for 82 miles from I-71 south of Cleveland to the Pennsylvania state line south of Youngstown. Once numbered Interstate 80S, I-76 now is the easternmost leg of the Ohio Turnpike.
• Interstate 77 (I-77) is an Interstate highway in the eastern United States. It runs from West Virginia to North Carolina and Ohio and supplants the old U.S. Route 21 between Cleveland and Columbia, South Carolina, an important north-south corridor through the middle Appalachians. The southern terminus of I-77 is in Columbia at the junction with Interstate 26. The northern terminus is in Cleveland at the junction with Interstate 90.
• Interstate 80 runs across the northern part of the state. Most of the route is part of the Ohio Turnpike, with only an 18.78-mile stretch not being on the toll road. That stretch of road is a shortcut through northern Pennsylvania with access to New York City.
• Interstate 90 runs east-west across the northern tier. Much of it is along the Ohio Turnpike, but sections outside the turnpike pass through Cleveland and northeast into Pennsylvania.
• Interstate 270 is the beltway loop freeway in the Columbus metropolitan area, commonly known locally as The Outerbelt. I-270, along with Interstate 670, provides access to Port Columbus International Airport
• Interstate 271 (I-271) is a major spur highway in the suburbs of Cleveland and Akron. The highway runs from a junction with I-71 in Medina Township to I-90 in Willoughby Hills, intersecting I-480. The width varies from point to point, but is mostly four to six lanes wide south of I-480 and eight to twelve lanes wide north of I-480; there it is divided into express and local lanes.
• Interstate 275 (I-275) is an 83.71 mile loop in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky that forms a complete beltway around the Cincinnati area. It is the only auxiliary interstate that enters three states.
• Interstate 277 (I-277) is a 4.14 mile connector route linking I-76 and I-77 in Akron.
• Interstate 280 (abbreviated I-280) is a 12.41-mile long highway that connects Interstate 75 in northeast Toledo with I-80/I-90.
• Interstate 470 is a 10.63 mile loop highway that bypasses downtown Wheeling, West Virginia. I-470 also serves as a thru-truck route for trucks carrying hazardous materials, allowing trucks to avoid the Wheeling Tunnel on I-70.
• Interstate 480 (I-480) is a loop highway that connects the Ohio Turnpike (I-80) with suburban Cleveland.
• Interstate 490 (I-490) is a 2.43-mile Interstate Highway in Cleveland. The western terminus is a junction with I-90 and I-71 on Cleveland's west side.
• Interstate 670 (I-670) is an Interstate Highway that passes through downtown Columbus, connecting I-70 west of downtown with I-270 and US 62 near the eastern suburb of Gahanna. I-670 provides access to Port Columbus International Airport, and intersects SR 315 and I-71 downtown.
• Interstate 675 (I-675) is connects I-75 with I-70, serving as an eastern bypass of Dayton.
• Interstate 680 (I-680) is the primary interstate traveling through Youngstown. Its northern terminus is with I-80 and its southern terminus is with I-76 (Ohio Turnpike).

Have you or a family member suffered a serious injury or wrongful death on a dangerous Ohio road? If yes, please contact the Ohio personal injury attorneys who will be there to help you and your family every step of the way.