Dangerous California Road Poses Risk of Car Accidents for Motorists
Thursday, April 30th, 2009A particular spot on Route 67 has been the site of dozens of car accidents over the past ten years. According to records over the past decade, there have been more than 900 car accidents along the entire highway from El Cajon to Ramona. 58 of these car accidents have occurred on the stretch between Archie Moore Road and Rocklin Oaks Way. About 36 of these accidents have occurred just after the point where the eastbound lanes merge into one.
It’s not clear how many of the 36 car accidents that have occurred at the dangerous point have ended in fatalities. It is also not clear if these accidents were caused because of the two lanes merging into one. However, travelers who use route 67 frequently claim that the spot is dangerous. Motorists, who may be unfamiliar with the road, fail to prepare for the merge, and the consequences may be disastrous. According to locals who use the road frequently, the particular stretch is dangerous because the design encourages people to race with other motorists to get ahead. By the time they get into the point where the two lanes merge into one, it’s too late to avoid a collision.
Route 67, especially the stretch that links Poway Road and Highland Valley Road in Ramona, is a long and winding highway that has rock walls on one side. The road has been the site of many serious car accidents that have ended with fatalities. However, officials insist that Route 67 is completely safe, and motorists need to maintain posted speed limits to avoid accidents. Locals insist that speeding is rampant on the highway.
Route 67 is also traffic-heavy because back country residents use it often to travel to and from San Diego. Locals have been asking for barriers to be installed, so there are fewer head-on car accidents. Transportation officials haven’t been too keen on having barriers installed, because these would force local travelers who use off-highway private roads to travel miles in the other direction, and make sudden U turns to head back in the direction they want to travel in. Besides, barriers could lead to out of control vehicles crashing into rock walls on the side, or into vehicles in the same lane.
One of the most recent serious accidents on Route 67 involved a Jaguar, which went out of a control and crashed into oncoming traffic. One of the vehicles, which the Jaguar crashed into, contained 25-year-old Chula Vista Resident Alexandria Drake. Her car veered off the road, and crashed into a tree, killing her. The driver of the Jaguar Ranchita resident Malvern Pearles has told the California Highway Patrol that a white BMW was responsible for him losing control at the spot on Route 67 where the two lanes merged into one.
Sometimes locals and frequent travelers who are the first to understand that a defective or dangerous road design could potentially cause serious car accidents. Transportation authorities have their own established standards for prioritizing changes to dangerous roads. They may decide to make alterations to the road only when a particular highway makes to their list of dangerous roads. However, this can involve bureaucratic hurdles and tons of paper work. By the time all formalities are completed, the dangerous road could have caused serious accidents.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of dangerous roads. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.





