Santa Monica Car Accidents Caused By Dangerous Intersections

Century City in Los Angeles County, California, is a city inside a city. Despite its high income population and workforce, a number of Century City car accident attorneys acknowledge that the city has seen many tragic car collisions.

Distracted drivers in pricey Porches, BMWs and Mercedes often "fly through" traffic at high speeds, while ignoring posted speed limits. To make matters worse, these motorists are frequently distracted by cell phones, iPods, BlackBerrys and other high-tech gadgets as they ignore red lights. Still others engage in road rage that has caused many car crashes.

During rush hour, Avenue of the Stars with intersections at Constellation Blvd, West Olympic, Santa Monica and West Pico becomes jammed with traffic. The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration notes that 45% of all car collisions occur at intersections. Sadly, these are often t-bone collisions, which result in severe injuries, far more so than rear-end collisions. This is because side car collisions lack the protections of seat belts and air bags. Car accidents also tend to be more severe since motorists who run hurry to beat the red-light and collide at higher speeds.

Century City car crash attorneys have noted that the city has some of the highest traffic fines in Los Angeles to dissuade scofflaws from running red lights. The red-light camera at Washington Blvd and Beethoven, for example, will exact a hefty $446 for red-light runners.

In 2007, nearly 900 people were killed and an estimated 153,000 were injured by red-light runners. Sadly, 50 percent of all fatalities in red-light running collisions are pedestrians and occupants in other cars who are hit by the red-light runners. Several Century City car collision lawyers have implied that red-light cameras, when used appropriately, can help reduce the number of car accidents in the city. They acknowledge that photo enforcement systems act a deterrent to would-be scofflaws who may be tempted to break the law.

Studies show that red-light cameras have dramatically reduced red-light violations. California evaluations showed that photo enforcement efforts reduced red-light running by about 40 percent. They even reduce violations at intersections without cameras, indicating that red-light cameras have a positive effect on driver behavior city wide.

Be on the Hit-and-Run Lookout

BISNAR | CHASE, in conjunction with WeTip, a leading anonymous crime reporting service and law enforcement advocacy non-profit organization, is launching a program intended to wipe out hit-and-runs in the state of California by offering rewards for tips leading to the arrest and felony conviction of hit-and-run drivers. See Hit-and-Run Reward for more details.

BISNAR | CHASE 2006-2010 Super Lawyers names outstanding lawyers from more than 60 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. BISNAR | CHASE has received this award for five consecutive years. Brian Chase was named one of the 2010 Top 50 Orange County Lawyers.