Wednesday, Sep 21 2011 5:14PM
Poorly maintained rural roads in California have led to a number of fatalities and injuries, a new report found.
The Road Information Program released its Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America's Heartland report and ranked California second for rural road fatalities.
The rural roads and bridges in the state connecting California communities are deteriorating, the report found, threatening people's safety and local communities' economic growth.
Bert Sandman, chairman of Transportation California, stated that when Californians drive on the roads, they shouldn't have to deal with harsh conditions.
"Many vital connector routes between towns and cities and between the major north-south freeways are hazardous two-lane roads. If the funding is provided, these roads can be modernized and made safer," said Sandman.
According to the report, in 2009, non-Interstate rural roads in the country had a traffic fatality rate of 2.31 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles of travel - more than three times the rate for all other U.S. roads.