Highway Tort Investigations

Proper design and construction of streets and highways are meant to provide safe and effective travel for vehicles of all types: commercial, passenger and recreational. Through the various Federal and State criteria published in manuals of practice, highway departments at all levels of the government must comply with these standards. Wallace J. Ochterski, P.E., a civil engineer, can review the layout and test drive these roadways to determine the adequacy of the traffic signage in use or those signs that should be in place.

His experience in cases of tort liability have covered a wide variety of areas including:

• Improper posting of STOP signs for visibility
• Lack of sufficient sight distance for the speed limit.
• Improper curve warning signage
• Length of yellow and all red traffic signal timing
• Shoulder drop-off from pavement
• Construction zone warning and delineation
• Geometric design of highway
• Grading of roadway at railroad crossing
• Stopping sight distance
• Vertical alignment of roadway at dips and hill crests.
• Maintenace of signs and pavement markings
• Guard rail placement
• Illumination on roadway for pedestrian crossings
• Merging traffic on expressway ramps
• Construction sign stability in high winds.
• Intersection sight lines for safe exit
• Construction zone warning devices, reduced speed and worker conduct.