Costa Mesa Car Accidents Caused by DUIs and Red-Light Runners

In Costa Mesa DUIs and red-light runners at intersections near freeway off- and on-ramps cause many of the car accidents in the city of over 110,000 people in Orange County, California. One Costa Mesa intersection, located near several off- and on-ramps to the San Diego Freeway by South Coast Plaza, the Metro Pointe shopping mall and several high-density residential areas, is one of the busiest in the city.

Traffic analysts have concluded that a "freeway driving" mentality seems to persist in Costa Mesa even after drivers exit the freeway. This creates a red-light runner's state of mind that can be deadly when entering intersection traffic. Supporting this conclusion is an Automobile Club of Southern California study that found that red-light runners caused most of the car accidents at intersections situated next to freeways.

"Red-light runners are responsible for over 1,000 deaths per year and injure over 250,000 across the country," said John Bisnar of the BISNAR | CHASE law firm. "Pedestrians take a big hit here, with over 50 percent being injured or killed in accidents caused by red-light runners. Men take the blame for twice as many red-light infractions as women. And the majority of these scofflaws are college educated."

Not surprisingly, 40 percent of red-light violators were talking on cell phones at the time. Following the lead of many California cities, Costa Mesa installed red-light cameras at key city intersections to bring down its traffic collision rate. The results were promising: one year after the camera program was initiated, car accidents dropped by 28.2 percent.

Costa Mesa also had to deal with another problem-motorists who drink and drive. The city was recently rated as having the second highest number of DUI arrests in California, according to Costa Mesa Police. Over 50 percent of all traffic accident fatalities in the city were caused by a drunk driver.

Adding to Costa Mesa's woes were the statistics culled from the California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). They showed that 11 people lost their lives in car crashes and 855 were injured. DUI accidents killed six and injured 104. Two motorcyclists were killed and 60 were injured. And two pedestrians suffered fatalities and 40 were injured in city car accidents.

Acting proactively, the Costa Mesa Police Department has been taking steps to reduce the number of car accidents in the city. In March 2009, it set up a sobriety checkpoint at northbound Harbor Boulevard south of Gisler Avenue. A total of 1,349 vehicles passed through the checkpoint and 364 were stopped. Of these, 34 drivers were checked for DUI, resulting in four arrests. What's more, 10 drivers were cited for driving without a license or for driving on a suspended license. Another ten citations were issued for miscellaneous vehicle code violations and ten vehicles were impounded.

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.