SACRAMENTO, CA, (Pain In The Pass) >> Pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders kept many drivers off California roads, freeways, and highway last year. For those who did venture out found open lanes that only invited others to speed and drive reckless. This lead into a sharp increase in traffic-crash deaths in California.
A nonprofit National Safety Council estimates in a report issued on Thursday that 3,723 people died in vehicle crashes in 2020 in California. This is a 5.1% increase over 2019 and the first jump in four years they said.
Even though traffic is now getting close to pre-coronavirus levels, the bad behavior on the roads is continuing according to California Highway Patrol. The CHP issued 2,493 citations for driving more than 100 mph in the first month of the lockdown, from March 19 to April 19, compared with 1,335 in the same period the previous year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said you can blame the increase on drivers taking more risks on less-congested roads by speeding, failing to wear seat belts, or driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol.
What some members in the Pain In The Pass Facebook group are talking about when they drive each day.
“It’s kind of terrifying what we’re seeing every day on our roads and the freeway lately,” said Melissa C.
“I’ve seeing a huge increase in the amount of risky behavior like speeding, weaving in and out of lanes, and passing on the opposite side of the road. Also asking, “where are the cops at,” said Tom A.
“These fatality accidents seem to happen on a daily basis. We all need to “SLOW” down and have respect,” said Scott L.
We all need to follow the “rules of the road”, but also be “road courteous” to each other, said Sheila H.
We must work together to reverse this trend. These behaviors need to change now, to drive down traffic fatalities.
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