Driving in Sacramento can be hazardous to your health. Consider a recent “5 Percent Report.” It lists areas in California that have the highest car accident rates. Surprisingly, Sacramento came in second (behind Los Angeles) with more than 100 accident hot spots. The California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) provided the grim accident statistics from 2004 to 2006. Sacramento’s numbers were alarmingly high, with 3,938 total injury collisions, 15 alcohol related fatal collisions and 378 alcohol related injury collisions.
Sacramento residents think the city’s accident-prone distinction is well deserved. Along with drunken drivers and careless youth, they blame the high accident rates on the city’s troublesome roads and intersections.
California Highway Patrol officials targeted major accident-prone zones like Watt Avenue in an effort to reduce car accident rates. This stretch of roadway is the most accident-prone in Sacramento, with no fewer than 7,800 crashes in the last ten years. CHP and traffic enforcement officers have tried a number of tactics–from changing traffic flow to widening the roads–with little success. Watt Avenue simply remains one of the most dangerous roads in the state. City residents have resisted road widening efforts, fearing such measures will turn their street into another jammed Los Angeles freeway.
Nonetheless, plans are underway to reduce traffic and make Watt Avenue friendlier to bicyclists and pedestrians. Although the posted speed limit is 40 mph, motorists routinely zip along at a heady 55 mph. Another challenge is how to handle the heavy traffic from neighboring Elk Grove and Roseville. There’s also Watt Avenue’s congestion-causing truck traffic, as well as the large number of shopping mall driveways with cars going in and out. All contribute to a potentially unsafe roadway.
Then there’s Highway 99, which has earned the nickname Blood Alley. While the CHP says it’s a perfectly good road, and it’s the drivers who make it dangerous, many motorists who often take this highway insist it’s a road that’s just plain accident-prone. They point to H99′s lack of traffic lights, varying roadway widths, sweeping curves, frequent left-turn lanes and cross streets–all of which have contributed to Blood Alley’s reputation. Many drivers have seen daring motorists sneak right up to the bumper of a car they feel is going too slow, then try to pass it using the oncoming traffic lane. A report found that Sacramento drivers think Highway 99 has some of the “meanest and most aggressive drivers” in the North State.
Roads like Highway 99 and Watt Avenue need to be addressed and possibly redesigned to make them less accident prone. The motoring public deserves quality roads that are safe for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
In over three decades, BISNAR | CHASE lawyers have represented over six thousand people in car, motorcycle, truck, pedestrian and other personal injury cases. The law firm has an “AV” rating, the highest level of professional excellence, by Martindale-Hubble. John Bisnar, who is the author of this article, and his partner Brian Chase each have a “Superb 10/10″ Avvo rating, the highest possible. John was named a “Community Hero” by the United Way, while Brian was named a “Trial Lawyer of the Year” in 2004,one of the 2007 Top 100 Trial Lawyers, and a 2009 OC METRO Top Personal Injury Lawyer. Isn’t this the legal team you want representing you? For more information on Sacramento car accident lawyers, visit the BISNAR | CHASE website at http://www.BestAttorney.com where you can get a complimentary copy of the book “The Seven Fatal Mistakes That Can Wreck Your California Personal Injury Claim” ($14.99 value), or call 1-800-561-4887 for a free consultation.
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Sacramento Criminal Lawyer Richard Allaye Chan Jr.