Huntington Beach Car Accidents Blamed on Dangerous Intersections

Dangerous intersections have been causing an inordinate number of car accidents in Huntington Beach, California. This is not to say that the beach town doesn't have the usual traffic violators, speeders and careless drivers. Regardless of the cause, too many people have lost their lives or were seriously injured in car accidents.

The California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System tells the story: In 2006, 12 people were killed in Huntington Beach car collisions and 1,053 were injured. Drunks took their toll as well, causing seven car crash fatalities and 116 injuries. Even motorcyclists suffered, with accidents claiming one life and injuring 60 others.

While bad drivers and bad driving caused many car accidents, some experts placed part of the blame on the city's intersections. The Los Angeles Times compiled a list of Orange County's 20 most dangerous intersections using five years of local car accident reports from the CHP. Eight of the county's 20 most dangerous intersections were in Huntington Beach. A big offender was the intersection of Warner Avenue and Newland Street, as was the intersection of Warner Avenue and Springdale Street. The report also revealed that 80% of the 42 car accidents at the latter intersection were caused by drivers failing to yield while turning left. Red-light runners, excessive speeding and drunk driving were also to blame.

"Huntington Beach has a number of car accident-prone intersections that are causing collision after collision," said John Bisnar of the BISNAR | CHASE Law Firm. "More traffic enforcement efforts, greater public awareness, and more responsible driving are needed to reduce the number of car accidents in these areas."

Huntington Beach decided to take a pro-active and somewhat experimental approach to cut down on the number of car accidents at its intersections. It replaced existing traffic signals with new ones-called "protected-permissive" signals. Popular for decades in other parts of the country, the new signals were not adopted in Orange County until recently.

So what makes the new signal lights so different? A five-bulb design that splits left turns into two parts. The traffic cycle starts when a lighted green arrow directs motorists to turn left because oncoming cars have stopped. When the green arrow shuts off and a regular green light turns on, motorists can opt to turn left if it's safe to do so, as gaps in traffic allow.

"These new protected-permissive signals need to pass the test of time and traffic before one can pass judgment on their effectiveness," exclaimed John Bisnar. "If they reduce car accidents and injuries, they should be pilot tested at other intersections."

Protected-permissive signals are used at 40% of Orange County's 20 most dangerous intersections. So far, Huntington Beach tried them in 29 of its 114 signal locations. The caveat expressed by some traffic control experts stipulates that protected-permissive controlled intersections should have excellent visibility and adequate timing. Traffic engineers recommend the signals be installed only at intersections with relatively low traffic volumes, reduced speed limits and good sight lines. This makes them less than ideal for some of the city's locations.

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.