A man was killed in Virginia when his car broke down at an exit ramp and was hit by a truck just moments after he had called for help

January 11, 2000
Web posted at: 9:34 p.m. EST (0234 GMT)

In this story: Decreasing space, increasing danger Shoulder elimination an 'emerging problem' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Reporter Jonathan Aiken

VIENNA, Virginia (CNN) -- Safety experts are rewriting their recommendations for motorists whose vehicles break down along busy roads and highways. The new advice follows a spate of deadly roadside accidents near Washington, D.C.

Conventional wisdom has held that motorists should remain inside their vehicles after a breakdown until help arrives. That rule of thumb may be changing.

Lon Anderson, of the American Automobile Association, said, "My advice: Get out of the car. Get on the other side of the guardrail, if you possibly can. It's not safe on the side of the road."

VIDEO CNN's Jonathan Aiken looks at the dangers of staying near your car when it breaks down. Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Rules of the road

Recently, three roadside accidents in the Washington area have left five people dead. In one instance, a Virginia man was killed when his car, which was broken down on an exit ramp, was hit by a truck just moments after he had called for help.

As traffic along many highways increases, roadside shoulders in many cases are disappearing. That could heighten danger for motorists with disabled vehicles. In 1998, 1,912 people died in roadside shoulder accidents in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Roadside shoulders are designed as a place for vehicles to pull over and stop, or as a route for emergency vehicles to pass through traffic jams. But nationwide, highway shoulders have been eliminated entirely in parts of 11 major cities to make way for car pool lanes and additional lanes of through traffic.

Traffic reporters, who observe traffic ebb and flow for a living, have called this trend a "quick fix."

"That's happened by legislation," said Bob Marbourg, a 20-year traffic reporting veteran, "by engineering, by the demands of our society for mobility where rights- of-way just don't exist."

Although highway planners have said the elimination of roadside shoulders is an emerging problem, no studies have been commissioned on the subject.

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