3 minute read
Jason the Lawyer
WRECK CAUSED BY NEGLIGENT USE OF "TAR SNAKE" MATERIAL
Motorcycle season is also road repair season. Unfortunately, every year we get many calls regarding motorcycle wrecks that involve road defects within road construction zones.
I think most motorcyclists have heard of “Tar Snakes.”
These are the black rubbery and squiggly lines in the roadway when road construction crews fill cracks.
In every construction road defect case, I point to the Standard Specifications of Construction and The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which states that road construction crews must make construction zones safe for all traffic, INCLUDING motorcycles. I always make the defendants admit their awareness of the latter. The crack filling material has a rubber base. The product is heated to a liquid form and then poured into roadway cracks. The rubbery aspect of the product is important because when water gets into a crack and freezes it is important that the product can expand.
Literature that I have read typically states that crack filling material is only supposed to be used on cracks no more than 3 inches wide.
I am presently representing a motorcyclist who went down and was injured because this crackfilling material was used to fill the rumble strips on the shoulder of the road. The construction crew shifted the lane halfway on the shoulder which put rumble strips in the middle of the temporary construction traffic lane. Below, you can see the actual tar snake in question.
It is my position that this product should not have been used in this situation.
The length and width of the rumble strips exceeded the safe 3” best practice, and the product was used in a curve, which is especially dangerous.
Road construction crews have a responsibility to follow regulations thoroughly. You Can Help! If anyone works in the industry and can point to additional product guidelines that state, This is not a proper use of crack filler material, please contact us.
I also explained the case in a recent Facebook LIVE video for Ask the Motorcycle Lawyer (at the 5:30 mark) and show the photographs of the hazard they created.
This Tar Snake case is just one of the interesting cases I am working on. When you join my Facebook group, Ask the Motorcycle Lawyer, l not only can you learn about more cases like this that you cannot see anywhere else but also, you join a supportive community of fellow bikers, and you will get the first crack at free tickets to the Tigers (two rows back from home plate), and exclusive access to ask me, The Motorcycle Lawyer, any burning legal, insurance, and other questions. Go to Facebook and search Ask the Motorcycle Lawyer. Our page should be the first choice; look for me walking from the bike.
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Attorney Jason Waechter is nationally known as THE Motorcycle Lawyersm . His Michigan law firm specializes in handling motorcycle accident cases. He has secured multiple million-dollar settlements, verdicts, and awards for his clients over the past 26 years. Call attorney Waechter for free advice or free case evaluation at:
