If you want to start a heated discussion about the most dangerous roads on Long Island, just mention Sunrise Highway. Also known as State Route (SR) 27 or Montauk Highway, it has long had a reputation for being one of the most dangerous stretches of roads in the area.
A study by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that between 2016 and 2020, there were 61 deaths reported on SR 27. Further, more than half of the deaths on Long Island roads occurred in Suffolk County. These deaths involved those in cars as well as motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians.
Speeding is a leading cause of serious crashes
Serious crashes continue on this popular stretch of road that covers the length of Long Island. Many of them are the result of speeding. Besides being a necessary route for locals, it gets increasingly busy during the summer with tourists. Of course, speeding, coupled with the traffic lights and intersections near shopping centers and restaurants along the route can be a dangerous mix. Those who are speeding aren’t always able to stop when they have to. Sometimes, they don’t even try.
One catastrophic crash involved a family going out to get ice cream
Last summer, a multi-vehicle crash claimed the lives of three people (a father and two of his children who, with other family members, were getting ice cream) and injured five others when a speeding vehicle crashed into them on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa. The driver was going at 120 miles per hour at the time and under the influence of multiple drugs, according to police.
While all drivers can certainly take extra precautions to help protect themselves from reckless and negligent drivers, there’s little you can do when a speeding driver has no concern for their own safety or anyone else’s. Pedestrians as well as those on two wheels are much more exposed and vulnerable to the whims of a reckless, impaired or distracted driver. When all of them are sharing a busy road, worst-case scenarios occur far too often.
While holding dangerous drivers who injure and kill others criminally accountable can provide some sense of justice, it doesn’t help with the economic and non-economic damages that victims and their families suffer. That’s why it’s crucial to seek maximum possible compensation through insurers and, if necessary, civil court. If you’ve been involved in an injurious crash, getting experienced legal guidance as soon as possible can help you hand off this chore to a professional so that you and your family can focus on healing.